Pro Choice is a Myth, Part 3

This is the last part of the “Pro Choice is a Myth” series, and I want to thank you for the various responses you’ve sent in.  Your comments have made the commentary stronger, and I’m grateful that you take the time to write. If you missed the previous parts of this series, you can catch up on the Human Coalition blog. 

In Parts 1 and 2, we discussed the “Name Game” behind the term “pro-choice.”  The term was intentionally created to mislead us into into believing that abortion was really about the “reproductive freedom” of women – not the taking of an unborn life. The tragic irony is that the babies (50% of whom are female) are given no choice whatsoever.

We also reviewed why someone who holds to a pro-choice position is pro-abortion, and why that means he or she is actually pro-death. You will often encounter people who insist they are against abortion but still pro-choice.  This is not a logical or sound position.

The pro-choice position requires a person to value the fabricated “reproductive freedom” of a woman more than the value of a human life. The child isn’t convenient for the parents, thus the convenience takes precedence over the life of the child.

For many, this position is easy to take because the unborn baby is not a walking, talking child or adult, or they don’t believe a fetus is a living human being.  It is simple to make a life or death decision about someone you’ve never met or perhaps don’t even consider to be alive.  Out of sight, out of mind.

Today I want to give you a few ideas of how to lovingly and compassionately begin to unwind the “pro-choice” deception in America.  If we are to win the War for Life, we must control the language and terminology that is used.  We must be certain of our own convictions regarding the sanctity of life.  We must be shrewd and intelligent with our arguments, remembering that our culture has been deceived by a vast, lucrative empire that does not take disagreement lightly.

1. Stop using the term “pro-choice.”  A few years ago I stopped using the term in its intended sense when speaking or writing.  I always use “pro-abortion” or “pro-death.”  This seems simple, but I’m surprised at how often pro-life proponents use the term “pro-choice” to indicate the opposite position.  It is not the opposite position.  The opposite of “life” is not “choice”, it is “death.”

That is part of the deception.  Pro-abortion proponents enjoy hearing the term “pro-choice,” even when it is used by their opponents.  The term intrinsically propels the idea that the movement is about women’s rights.  It is not about women’s rights (otherwise they would work to protect the rights of unborn females).

2.  Do not use or accept the term “anti-choice.”  This is often how pro-abortion advocates identify pro-life proponents.  They do so because the term “anti-choice” once again draws attention away from the core issue (the killing of an unborn child) and onto the false assumption of reproductive rights.

Most pro-life proponents ARE pro-choice.  We believe women should have the right to work, the right to vote, the right to date whomever they choose, the right to choose their health care provider, the right to choose where and if to worship, the freedom to be educated, etc.  The only “choice” we don’t wish to be given to women (and men, by the way) is the choice to kill an innocent, unborn child.

So we are not “anti-choice.”  We are “anti-abortion.”  Don’t allow the issue to be deflected by the deceptive terms that are used.

3.  Always bring the discussion back to its core question – “What is the unborn?”  In his stellar book, The Case for Life, author Scott Klusendorf reminds us that the entire issue hinges on the answer to that question.  All other questions or arguments are distractions.

Klusendorf uses a debating technique he calls “trotting out the toddler.”  Essentially it means to reframe the pro-abortion arguments in light of an already born child vs. an unborn one.

“What if we can’t afford the baby?” 

“What if you couldn’t afford your toddler? Would you kill your toddler to save the money?”

“I don’t want the government telling me what I can’t do with my body!”

“Would you want the government to legalize the killing of toddlers at the option of the parents?”

“The pregnancy isn’t convenient for me right now.”

“What if your toddler isn’t convenient?  Ok to kill him?”

These techniques bring the topic back to its core – is an unborn baby a human life or not?  If so, why does an unborn baby have less value than one that is born?

Some would argue that life only begins when a person is productive to society. We should then consider legalizing infanticide, because I’ve yet to meet a two month old who is productive to society.  In fact, every two month old I’ve met is 100% consumer, not a producer (my wife would agree that our two kids were more consuming outside of the womb than inside!).

The issue of reproductive rights is a cleverly conceived smokescreen.  When engaging in conversation, don’t allow the topic to be women’s rights.  The issue of abortion is always about the life of an unborn child.  By drawing the comparison between an unborn child and a toddler, the pro-abortion advocate must then concede that either life doesn’t begin at conception or that life in the womb has less value than life outside.

Both positions are extremely difficult to defend.  We already know scientifically that life begins at conception.  And to deem that life has less value in the womb than outside the womb is a slippery slope.  If life has less value at certain stages of development, at what stage does it have full value?  Does life then decrease in value as we get older?

4.  Be loving and wise.  Personally, I think the pro-life movement has had some very ugly moments of hatred, vitriol, and the propagation of inaccurate information.  Although I’m deeply passionate about the sanctity of life, that doesn’t give me a license to act with venom or disdain.

Abortion is an emotionally charged issue, and the heart doesn’t always think rationally or intelligently. I’ve yet to hear a pro-life counselor tell me they counseled a woman to choose life by berating her or judging her position on life.  No, they share truthful information with compassion, genuinely caring for the person and her situation.

The panic, shame, guilt, and rejection that many men and women feel when deciding to abort is very real.  We must treat it as such.

If you are pro-life, you have the Truth on your side.  No pro-abortion argument stands in light of the Truth.  Be courageous in your stand for Life.  Be gentle, be shrewd, and share the Truth in Love.  If we collectively begin to reframe the argument back to the unborn child, the War for Life will turn in our favor.  Hundreds, if not thousands, of unborn lives will be rescued from the curse of abortion.