They picket outside abortion clinics with signs portraying butchered infant bodies and fight tooth and nail to protect the sanctity of unborn life, all from atop undeservedly high horses in an attempt to infiltrate the minds of unsuspecting rational individuals. Yes, I am talking about pro-lifers. While I do believe that they are well intentioned, they generally miss the mark when it comes to making their argument seem legitimate to the rest of the population. One unique quality about avid pro-lifers is that they do not pose a distinguishable counterpoint; there is simply no such thing as "pro-abortion". Alternatively, they choose to attack the rational majority of people who believe that what a woman does with her body is her business and no one else's. I do not encourage people to have abortions against their best wishes, nor do I attempt to bully an already distraught woman into believing that a choice she has vehemently wrestled with will damn her for all eternity. Part of living in a democratic society means that differing views and opinions are tolerated, accepted and most importantly, RESPECTED. I do not see myself in a position to tell someone what they can or cannot do with their own body, nor do I have the right to advocate the moral superiority of my own personal beliefs to the detriment of another's. Pro-lifers on the other hand, believe that it is their God given (or possibly, some other dictatorial source of logic given) right to proclaim that what they believe is right for everybody and that differing opinions are inherently immoral.
Recently, "Echoes of the Holocaust", was an information seminar held on the University of Toronto campus, in which abortion was related and compared to the Holocaust. Am I the only person who thinks that the very idea of this is comparison is completely ludicrous, not to mention blasphemous and insulting to the entire Jewish population? Maternal sentiments aside, a fetus is a cluster of cells. Really and truly, it is. To compare the act of abortion to the systematic murder of millions of innocent people is quite frankly the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.
As a decent human being, I understand fully and can totally appreciate the sentiments of preserving and nurturing the stages of fetal development which lead to the creation of a life, but the one thing about pro-lifers that irks me the most is the fact they are completely oblivious to firstly, what raising a child entails both financially, physically and emotionally, as well as the hypocrisy which they preach. Pro-lifers give up their Sunday afternoons to aggressively preach for the fruition of every fetus, but what about after the baby is born? Good luck finding a pro-lifer who is willing to give up their Sunday afternoons to babysit, drive the kid to soccer or hockey practice or work an extra job just to provide the basic necessities to that child. How is it that a group of people can actively advocate for life but are able to completely disregard its sanctity once it actually qualifies as a life?? The question must be asked if pro-life is really a commitment to protecting all forms of life or if it just an opportunity to soapbox about one single issue. Are pro-lifers willing to pay higher taxes in order to support social programs so that women can more easily make the choice to have their children? Or, do they simply disappear like a deadbeat dad once the umbilical cord is cut? Are pro lifers advocating the value of life when it comes to supporting political initiatives like the war on terror or Israel-Palestine where human life is being obliterated daily?
Some of you realize that pregnancy and childcare are expensive. The choices of adoption or "responsibility for your actions" are often sugar-coated and glamorized and rarely shown for that they really are. "Choice" is a misnomer. Most women do not have a choice due to economic or social limitations. It's the same with women in the work place. Rarely do women have a choice to work or stay at home, depending on their status. Our discourse about women's "choices" and decisions need to reflect these realities. I think what is missing from the pro-life argument is a view of pregnancy and childcare from a point of view other than a privileged white perspective.
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