Monday, 28 May 2018

Abortion: when people say “I’m not pro-life or pro-choice” and “Don’t use abortion as a contraceptive”


When people say “I’m not pro-life or pro-choice”

Citizens of the Republic of Ireland have approved changing their constitution to be pro-choice in a referendum.
            Pro-choice: women having the right to have an abortion if they choose to.
            Pro-life: opposing abortion and euthanasia.
This is great news for women, giving them control over their own bodies. In a world full of rules (as is only right), everyone should have full autonomy over their body. Abortions are, of course, sad and terrible, but bringing an unwanted child into the world isn’t sensible in the slightest.

Over the course of the referendum, I saw people saying they were neither pro-life nor pro-choice because, whilst they personally wouldn’t have an abortion, they respected other people’s right to do so.
            This is quite literally the definition of pro-choice: respecting the choice of individual women, even if it’s not the same choice you’d personally make.
So these individuals claiming they’re in a grey area because they’re not pro-life or pro-choice are in fact advocating that they are pro-choice.


When people say “Don’t use abortion as a contraceptive”

People say abortion shouldn’t be used as contraception. Yet in reality is abortion could never be used as contraceptive. It can’t be done.
            Contraception: a method used to prevent pregnancy.
            Abortion: removing a foetus during pregnancy.

If contraception is to prevent pregnancy from happening and abortion happens during pregnancy, abortion cannot be a contraceptive. Prevention can’t be used to end something because prevention means something doesn’t even start in the first place!
Unless, grasping for some justification, abortions are involved in time-travel. Just the silliness of this goes to show how ridiculous it is to claim abortion is a contraceptive.
Of course, the sentiment of “Don’t use abortion as a contraceptive” is clear: you shouldn’t just throw a life away. However, what’s being said is not what’s meant that can only cause problems in communication.

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