Comments on: Choice Words

By: Zoe Nicholson

Zoe Nicholson — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 21:23:32 +0000

With the intersection of stem cell research, infertility alternatives, cloning, reproductive blurring, euthanasia, suicide and capital punishment – it is the perfect time to include both genders, all people, all parties and get to the point – this is about physical autonomy. Now when I speak on reproductive freedom and responsibility, I only talk about every human’s fundamental right to physical autonomy. You own your body and you decide what to do with it. The decision is NOT a democratic process. It is only yours – true and appropriate dictatorship.

Zoe Nicholson

http://www.onlinewithzoe.typepad.com

By: MsJane

MsJane — Mon, 03 Jul 2006 15:43:59 +0000

I’ve posted my thoughts at Broadsheet as well. I think this is an importance discussion. Choice is over. It does not represent us accurately, and it is not broad enough. I offer Pro-Reproductive Rights or Pro-Reproductive Health. I prefer the former, because it is more workable. The latter idea should be interjected verbally in all debate. We are fighting for the right to reproductive health of the american woman, period. This eliminates the “desperate woman” standpoint also. A woman may not be desperate, but she may in fact be married, but mentally, emotionally and/or physically unwilling and unable to bear yet another child.

And to answer some worried straggler posts here and there….I’m sure the other side can always find SOME woman somewhere who doesn’t have a valid reason to abort, in their mind. But the rights of the majority should not be taken away because of a fraction of women exercising that right. In addition, whose to say what mind a woman is in? Whose to say if she is emotionally mature/ready/able to bear a child? So it circles around back to our benefit. It is spin proof.

By: Kali

Kali — Sun, 02 Jul 2006 02:16:50 +0000

How about anti-torture? Because forced pregnancy followed by forced childbirth is a completely grotesque form of physical abuse, and I don’t think people think about that aspect of it enough. And anyone arguing with that framing could be seen as minimising the Holy Sacrifice of Suffering that all mothers(=all women) are supposed to make in right wing world.
Or pro-health.

By: exangelena

exangelena — Fri, 30 Jun 2006 04:38:29 +0000

I think that the reason “pro-choice” has prevailed for so long is because it is somewhat value neutral. Some other terms seem to affirm abortion as a positive action (“reproductive freedom” for example), and there are many people who are uncomfortable with outlawing abortion (and would oppose the sweeping statewide bans) but think that abortion is morally wrong, or at least a moral gray area.

By: Kyra

Kyra — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 22:46:30 +0000

Pro-responsibility. Wouldnt THAT cause an uproar.

It would, at that. Problem is, while the pro-life side understands concepts like "choice" and "autonomy" as supporting abortion, I doubt that many of them accept that there's anything responsible about terminating a pregnancy. I mean, we're talking about people who barely acknowledge that contraception use is being responsible. We know that not spending nine months creating a baby that one doesn't want and/or can't take care of is being responsible. They, however, will start screaming about how "you're responsible for supporting that bayyybeee inside you!!!!" and "you're responsible for abstaining from sex to avoid pregnancy." At least with "choice," the other side can't use the same word to make the opposite argument. It's a good idea, but I think it's in danger of getting claimed by the pro-lifers, sort of the way we can lay claim to "pro-life" whenever there's any abortion ban with no mother's-life exemptions.

By: Raging Moderate

Raging Moderate — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 21:11:40 +0000

Choice has never struck me as choice; it’s an option, but it’s an option for desperate women.

I'm surprised that this statement went unchallenged. I know two women who had abortions who were definitely not desperate. They were both educated, successful, and financially independant (they earned more than their mates). Do you really think every abortion is an act of desperation?

I tend to think that in conversation the most honest and accurate way to talk about it is in terms of “supporters of abortion rights” versus “opponents of abortion rights”

Me too. I proudly proclaim to be pro-abortion, but I see how that doesn't make a good bumper sticker.

So I think “reproductive rights” works quite well. Or “reproductive freedom.”

I've always liked "reproductive freedom" too, but I think you'll find some unwanted company using that term.

By: ole blue

ole blue — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 18:57:25 +0000

When ever we change a label to rights are liberties the whole dynamic is changed. Pro-choice has always been a bad label to use, reproductive rights brings it down to the individual, which is where our rights begin.

By: La Lubu

La Lubu — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 18:27:23 +0000

I prefer “reproductive rights” to “pro-choice”; the term “pro-choice” seems to infer “to give, or not to give birth” as being the only question. Reproductive rights, on the other hand, encompasses a wide range of issues: access to safe, effective birth control, choosing between being a parent or childfree, protection from forced sterilization, access to reproductive health care, protection from pregnancy-related job loss (or education loss, as was once common from pregnant teens), legal breastfeeding, etc.

By: Niles

Niles — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 17:33:24 +0000

How about “reproductive freedom”? It’s certainly the opposite of the ‘control’ the pro-forced childbirth forces want.

reproductive freedom ride
reproductive freedom forces/fighters
reproductive freedom rights
reproductive freedom rainbow

By: Shankar Gupta

Shankar Gupta — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 16:42:53 +0000

Men can abdicate their responsibilities on a whim, why not women?

No, they cannot.

But on topic, I think Jill’s “reproductive rights” is a good flag to fly, for several reasons.

The modern pro-life/pro-choice debate is about far more than merely abortion–it touches on birth control, contraception, hell, even vacines for cervical cancer. So many of those issues are far more clear-cut than abortion, in my mind. Best to tie your ideology to those as well, rather than only the most contentious issue among them.

IMO, part of the problem with so many of the suggestions here are that they’re much higher-order than the issue that’s actually being debated. “Pro-autonomy,” “pro-rights,” or “pro-liberty.” Sure, you are probably pro-all-those-things, but that’s not the debate. It may be part of the big picture, but that’s not what we’re talking about. “Reproductive rights” is just specific enough.

If you’re willing to go as far as “pro-liberty,” you might as well just call yourselves “Good,” and the anti-abortion side “Evil.”

Hey, waitaminute…