Meg
So bin ich eben
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The Pro-Life Problem: Is it a Problem at all?
The abortion debate has been going on for years now and it’s obvious that the two sides of the argument, pro-life and pro-choice, do not respect each other or their opinions. All one has to do is drive past an abortion clinic and see the protesters holding up signs of aborted fetuses and screaming at the women being escorted inside to see were the disdain is. Those people are exercising their right to protest, but in a way that attacks women getting an abortion: women who have enough on their mind already.
It’s easy to understand why pro-choice identified people dislikes and in some cases loathes the pro-life side. Who wouldn’t dislike someone that screams in people’s faces that they are going to hell? And it’s not just the people, but the ideas held by pro-life supporters that the other side dislikes and dismisses as wrong.
To be pro-life means that you oppose abortion by any means because aborting an unborn baby is seen as murder. Fair enough. On the other side you have the people who are pro-choice and they believe that women deserve the right to choose what they do with their body. After all what they choose to do is going to effect them more than anyone else. Another fair point.
Reasonable people can have a mature discussion that expresses their ideas and eventually come to an agreement; even if the agreement is that they disagree. However, reason is often absent in a debate so controversial as abortion. On one side you have protesters screaming about how “abortion supporters” are going to hell and even going so far as to attack and kill doctors that preform abortion. On the other side you have people who think so lowly of the pro-life side that they dub them “anti-choice” instead and even lump all pro-life people into one category: the kind that screams and murders.
The thing is, not all pro-life people are like those extremists. Every group is going to have a sub-group that is far to extreme, and in this case out of control, that then reflects poorly onto the group as a whole. Just because you are pro-life doesn’t mean that you support the actions of those extremists and for someone to make that judgment is wrong. Even worse is that many pro-choice people identify themselves as feminists. Feminism has been stereotyped as being made up of bra-burning, men hating women on their periods. That is not what feminism is about. It is simply the belief that all men and women, regardless of class, race, sexual orientation, etc., should have equal social, political, and economic rights. Feminism is essentially the belief in equal rights for everyone. However, there are some extremists within feminism that create and reinforce that negative stereotype and make the rest of the group look terrible. Considering that you think feminists wouldn’t be so quick to judge and lump all pro-life people into one extremist category, but they do. Quite simply, that is hypocrisy.
The people who would hurt and kill people who support abortion are wrong and deserve to be in jail. Being pro-life does not mean you support the killing of innocent people. Voting against abortion does not mean you condone the acts of the extremists. It means you are a free-thinking individual with your own set of opinions and you have the right to not only have those opinions, but to act on them. A person may vote against abortion if they wish just as much as someone may vote for it. The pro-choice attitude in general is that you either fully support a woman’s right to a safe abortion if she feels she really needs it, or you are a horrible person.
This black and white way of thinking makes it difficult and awkward for people who identify themselves as pro-life feminists: even if they believe that a woman may get an abortion if she was raped, or if the pregnancy would be dangerous to her health they. To many pro-choice supporters they are still wrong and terrible. They are no better than the extremists. This puts pro-life feminists, namely me, in a very awkward spot where they feel as if their opinions are not welcome anywhere, and so they are not welcome anywhere.
I am pro-life with said exceptions, but I do not condone nor support the behavior of the extremists that would hurt, both physically and mentally, those that disagree with them. I believe that to get an abortion, excluding in the case of rape or medical reasons, is morally wrong. However, I also believe that women who feel they need an abortion for any reason are under enough stress that they do not need me telling them I think they are morally wrong. Just no. So I prefer to keep my mouth shut on the issue because I would rather see women getting safe abortions, as much as I hate it and wish they didn’t, than see them get a back ally abortion and die in the process. I hate abortion and I think it should be inaccessible to women who don’t need one for medical reasons, or worse because they were raped, but I am not about to force such opinions onto those women because I can not even begin to understand what they are going through.
I am not about to ask other pro-life people to do the same though. Everyone has a right to protest. If someone wants to protest abortion they can because it is their right. Other people don’t have to agree with what they say, but it is still their right and respect should be given to those that present their opinion in a mature manner. As for those that would scream and harm others: turn away from them. Many of those people use religion, especially Christianity, as justification for what they are doing. In the face of those people, demonstrate proper Christianity and turn away from them, but refrain from judging them. And that goes for both sides of the argument.
The Pro-Life Problem: Is it a Problem at all?
The abortion debate has been going on for years now and it’s obvious that the two sides of the argument, pro-life and pro-choice, do not respect each other or their opinions. All one has to do is drive past an abortion clinic and see the protesters holding up signs of aborted fetuses and screaming at the women being escorted inside to see were the disdain is. Those people are exercising their right to protest, but in a way that attacks women getting an abortion: women who have enough on their mind already.
It’s easy to understand why pro-choice identified people dislikes and in some cases loathes the pro-life side. Who wouldn’t dislike someone that screams in people’s faces that they are going to hell? And it’s not just the people, but the ideas held by pro-life supporters that the other side dislikes and dismisses as wrong.
To be pro-life means that you oppose abortion by any means because aborting an unborn baby is seen as murder. Fair enough. On the other side you have the people who are pro-choice and they believe that women deserve the right to choose what they do with their body. After all what they choose to do is going to effect them more than anyone else. Another fair point.
Reasonable people can have a mature discussion that expresses their ideas and eventually come to an agreement; even if the agreement is that they disagree. However, reason is often absent in a debate so controversial as abortion. On one side you have protesters screaming about how “abortion supporters” are going to hell and even going so far as to attack and kill doctors that preform abortion. On the other side you have people who think so lowly of the pro-life side that they dub them “anti-choice” instead and even lump all pro-life people into one category: the kind that screams and murders.
The thing is, not all pro-life people are like those extremists. Every group is going to have a sub-group that is far to extreme, and in this case out of control, that then reflects poorly onto the group as a whole. Just because you are pro-life doesn’t mean that you support the actions of those extremists and for someone to make that judgment is wrong. Even worse is that many pro-choice people identify themselves as feminists. Feminism has been stereotyped as being made up of bra-burning, men hating women on their periods. That is not what feminism is about. It is simply the belief that all men and women, regardless of class, race, sexual orientation, etc., should have equal social, political, and economic rights. Feminism is essentially the belief in equal rights for everyone. However, there are some extremists within feminism that create and reinforce that negative stereotype and make the rest of the group look terrible. Considering that you think feminists wouldn’t be so quick to judge and lump all pro-life people into one extremist category, but they do. Quite simply, that is hypocrisy.
The people who would hurt and kill people who support abortion are wrong and deserve to be in jail. Being pro-life does not mean you support the killing of innocent people. Voting against abortion does not mean you condone the acts of the extremists. It means you are a free-thinking individual with your own set of opinions and you have the right to not only have those opinions, but to act on them. A person may vote against abortion if they wish just as much as someone may vote for it. The pro-choice attitude in general is that you either fully support a woman’s right to a safe abortion if she feels she really needs it, or you are a horrible person.
This black and white way of thinking makes it difficult and awkward for people who identify themselves as pro-life feminists: even if they believe that a woman may get an abortion if she was raped, or if the pregnancy would be dangerous to her health they. To many pro-choice supporters they are still wrong and terrible. They are no better than the extremists. This puts pro-life feminists, namely me, in a very awkward spot where they feel as if their opinions are not welcome anywhere, and so they are not welcome anywhere.
I am pro-life with said exceptions, but I do not condone nor support the behavior of the extremists that would hurt, both physically and mentally, those that disagree with them. I believe that to get an abortion, excluding in the case of rape or medical reasons, is morally wrong. However, I also believe that women who feel they need an abortion for any reason are under enough stress that they do not need me telling them I think they are morally wrong. Just no. So I prefer to keep my mouth shut on the issue because I would rather see women getting safe abortions, as much as I hate it and wish they didn’t, than see them get a back ally abortion and die in the process. I hate abortion and I think it should be inaccessible to women who don’t need one for medical reasons, or worse because they were raped, but I am not about to force such opinions onto those women because I can not even begin to understand what they are going through.
I am not about to ask other pro-life people to do the same though. Everyone has a right to protest. If someone wants to protest abortion they can because it is their right. Other people don’t have to agree with what they say, but it is still their right and respect should be given to those that present their opinion in a mature manner. As for those that would scream and harm others: turn away from them. Many of those people use religion, especially Christianity, as justification for what they are doing. In the face of those people, demonstrate proper Christianity and turn away from them, but refrain from judging them. And that goes for both sides of the argument.
