The Catalyst

By Bri Castellini, Web and Commentary Editor

Of all the political misconceptions, being called “pro-abortion” is probably the most annoying. Logically, being “pro-abortion” doesn’t really make any sense, but “pro-life” activists use the phrase liberally. “Pro-choice” in no way means “pro-abortion”, and it’s time that the ill-informed mudslinging ends.

The first thing you must understand is why a “pro-abortion” stance doesn’t make any sense. Think about it, who likes abortion? Who gets excited when a woman walks into an abortion clinic and thinks “Oh boy, she’s probably getting an abortion today! That’s so cool!” That’s sick and twisted. A pro-choice woman does not associate herself with that side so she can get pregnant all the time and then abort the unborn child, because that doesn’t make any sense.

According to ProChoice.com, “Pro-choice describes the political and ethical view that a woman should have complete control over her fertility and the choice to continue or terminate a pregnancy. This entails the guarantee of reproductive rights, which includes access to sexual education; access to safe and legal abortion, contraception, and fertility treatments; and legal protection from forced abortion.” This view in no way advocates abortion or denounces adoption. It is simply saying that a woman should have control over her body.

If you’re not pro-abortion, but you believe that it should be up to the woman, when is it acceptable to get an abortion? This question is common, and it’s not easy to answer. Of course, since it is the individual woman’s choice, abortion is “acceptable” for her whenever she feels it is. I don’t believe that abortion is a good choice at all in most situations, but again, it’s not my choice. I am pro-choice because there are circumstances where I believe abortion is usually necessary. There is rape. There are terminal diseases that would kill the child immediately or render the child incapacitated for its entire life. There are pregnancy complications that would kill the mother upon the birth. In every once of these situations, it is unfair either to the mother or the child itself to continue the pregnancy, unwanted or otherwise, and we should respect the mother’s rights to control her own body.

There is always the other side, of course. According to AbortionFacts.com and the Justice Department, “there are no more than two pregnancies per 1,000 assault rapes.” That is a very small percentage, and is the pregnancy-resulting rape of two women worth the annual deaths of 1,550,000 unborn children? This is where the true controversy arises. I believe that it is worth it, and that rape is not the only good reason for abortion.

A “pro-life” stance is against all abortions, while a “pro-choice” stance gives the opportunity to women to obtain abortions. There is no “pro-abortion” stance, just as there is no “pro-killing” stance. No one relishes the loss of a life like the loss of post-pregnancy baby weight. Whatever you believe, though, it’s important to be correctly informed, because an ill informed stance is an ignorant stance.