Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice
The subject of abortion is a pretty controversial subject, and I guess I can understand why. People feel very passionately one way or the other and have difficulty understanding the opposing view has merit. When asked my position on the subject of procreation I happen to subscribe to both terms…pro-life AND pro-choice.
I am pro-life because I believe life begins at conception…life doesn’t evolve in the womb from nothingness to life over the course of time. It happens as soon as an egg becomes fertilized by a sperm. And I believe that life within the womb should be protected prior to birth as well as afterwards.
I am pro-choice because I believe a woman has the right to choose whether or not she wants to have a baby. However, unlike most “pro-choice” activists, I believe this decision must be made prior to conception, not after the baby has already been conceived. In other words if a woman does not want to have a baby, then she should not engage in baby-making activities. Once the baby is made, the choice is no longer available.
Given the fact that our society likes to give everyone a label, if I was forced to choose one, I would have to go with “pro-life”.
The 2008 Presidential Elections are coming upon us very soon. If this issue is a big one for you, (HINT: It’s a HUGE one for me), then you might want to take a closer look at who stands for what. Here is a quick rundown of the major presidential candidates and where they each stand on the subject.
REPUBLICANS
Rudy Guiliani : PRO-CHOICE
“Rudy Giuliani supports reasonable restrictions on abortion such as parental notification with a judicial bypass and a ban on partial birth abortion—except when the life of the mother is at stake. He’s proud that adoptions increased 66% while abortions decreased over 16% in New York City when he was Mayor. But Rudy understands that this is a deeply personal moral dilemma, and people of good conscience can disagree respectfully.”
Mike Huckabee : PRO-LIFE (favors a constitutional ammendment)
“I support and have always supported passage of a constitutional amendment to protect the right to life. My convictions regarding the sanctity of life have always been clear and consistent, without equivocation or wavering. I believe that Roe v. Wade should be over-turned.”
John McCain : PRO-LIFE (put the decision to the states)
“John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench. Constitutional balance would be restored by the reversal of Roe v. Wade, returning the abortion question to the individual states. The difficult issue of abortion should not be decided by judicial fiat.”
Ron Paul : PRO-LIFE (put the decision to the states)
“The right of an innocent, unborn child to life is at the heart of the American ideals of liberty. My professional and legislative record demonstrates my strong commitment to this pro-life principle…
As an OB/GYN doctor, I’ve delivered over 4,000 babies. That experience has made me an unshakable foe of abortion. Many of you may have read my book, Challenge To Liberty, which champions the idea that there cannot be liberty in a society unless the rights of all innocents are protected. Much can be understood about the civility of a society in observing its regard for the dignity of human life.“
Mitt Romney : WAS PRO-CHOICE, now states he’s PRO-LIFE (put the decision to the states)
“I am pro-life. I believe that abortion is the wrong choice except in cases of incest, rape, and to save the life of the mother. I wish the people of America agreed, and that the laws of our nation could reflect that view. But while the nation remains so divided over abortion, I believe that the states, through the democratic process, should determine their own abortion laws and not have them dictated by judicial mandate.”
Fred Thompson PRO-LIFE (put the decision to the states)
“I am committed to…using the Presidency to encourage policies that promote a culture of life, strengthen the institution of marriage and traditional families, and advance freedom of religion…Returning authority to the levels of government closest to families and communities—the states—and then protecting states from further intrusion by the federal government, the judiciary, and other states.”
DEMOCRATS
Hillary Clinton : PRO-CHOICE (I imagine since I couldn’t find any mention to the contrary on her campaign website. If you find something, PLEASE let me know below.)
John Edwards : PRO-CHOICE
“The decision about whether to become a parent is one of the most important decisions that a woman can face. Edwards believes that she should make it with her family, her doctor and in the context of her religious and ethical values. He will protect and defend the right to choose and reverse the damage that has been done by President Bush’s anti-choice agenda.”
Barack Obama : PRO-CHOICE (I imagine since I couldn’t find any mention to the contrary on his campaign website. If you find something, PLEASE let me know below.)
Is this an important issue to you…important enough to influence your decision for the next president?
For More Information on the Pro-Life Movement, visit the National Right to Life website.
For More Information on the Pro-Choice Movement, visit the National Abortion Federation at http://www.prochoice.org.
Technorati Tags: pro-life, pro-choice, abortion, sanctity of life, roe v wade
Posted: December 15th, 2007 under Faith/Religion, Politics.
Comments: 4
4 Responses to “Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice”
Write a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Related articles
- Temporarily Moved (September 26th, 2009)
- Grassroots Conservatives: Turning Up the Volume (March 13th, 2009)
- Imagine the Potential of One Life (January 31st, 2009)
- Barack Obama’s Agenda in the White House (January 26th, 2009)
- God Forgive America (November 21st, 2008)
December 15th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
The blood of the unborn stains the land and speaks to the devaluation of human life within our culture.
I think I will go with the bumper sticker I have seen around that says, “Abortion Stops a Beating Heart”. I would agree that “It is not a choice, it is a child.” In any instance, it is not the child’s fault that he/she was conceived. The right to live has been enjoyed by everyone that is able to read these words. I consider myself blessed to have had a mother that was “pro-life”.
History will demonstrate that any strong nation had a strong family unit at the core. Without such, a nation will surely crumble. Our great nation cannot be conquered by conventional warfare, even by the entire world. The degradation of the family unit (i.e. abortion) and the turning away from the founding moral principles of our fathers will surely lead our “Rome” to ruin. The barbarians are at the gates while our leaders bicker over lukewarm compromises in the once great halls of our forefathers. In such halls, words as those following were drafted for the citizens of this great nation.
“When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. …”
Our founding fathers, when breaking from the tyranny of England, decidedly and eloquently stated their convictions in these beginning phrases of the Declaration of Independence. Indeed, these were much more than words on paper, but instead were core beliefs which they would willingly die for. Where are such leaders today? Where are even such patriots? Do not these very words speak to the sanctity of life granted by the Creator? An America without these truths is not the America that these men, and so many other great patriots, have sacrificed and bled for.
I, as a patriotic American, agree with these convictions of our founding fathers. I am voting for the conservative candidate that has the guts to stand up and say what I believe. I agree with Mike Huckabee when he states “My convictions regarding the sanctity of life have always been clear and consistent, without equivocation or wavering.”
Ty Wigal
December 15th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
Not a fan of Huckabee, but definitely a fan of this post!
December 20th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
Life is the most precious gift that we can take away from another. Defending innocent life is always right. Thank you Carrie. You were brilliant.
https://www.mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Contribute.Home&r=2342 if you choose to contribute to mike, I hope you use my code.
Here is something I wrote back in January.
January 22, 1973 is a day of National Shame.
January 22, 1973 is the day the United States Supreme Court initiated an American Catastrophe of judicial proportions. Blackmun and company decided to crucify 1/3 of a generation on the cross of choice.
My friends, January 22, 1973 was not merely a day in which the death sentence was farmed out to professional hit men disguised as doctors. It was the day we choose a new god. In 1962 we tossed the true and living God out of the public square. Acknowledging Him used to be considered essential to good education, that day it became psychologically damaging and oppressive. To fill the void, we had to find a new god. That god was our judgment. We could choose whatever we want. We controlled our lives not some higher being somewhere out there.
The ultimate proof was that we could choose to abandon our own Constitutional precedence and find out the emanations of the penumbras of the 14th amendment a right to determine who is human. We determined who had rights not some god.
The result has been devastating. 45 million beating hearts were snuffed out over the last 34 years some in indescribable cruelty. Human pesticide is being marketed without even a prescription (don’t even bother me with having to look someone in the eye) and called emergency contraceptive.
Scientists are being given tax money to experiment on the youngest of humans to find cures for the rest of us. This high tech cannibalism does not end there. They are starting to clone and genetically engineer human beings and their is a ruling which could allow those humans to be patentable property.
The gates of hell were opened that day and our values seem to be sucked down to the pit. Child abuse soared, families collapsed, murder soared, rape climbed, schools became war zones, and America suffered humiliation in Viet Nam and a disgraced Presidency. The once great manufacturing giant loses jobs everyday. The social safety net of social security misses the very citizens who could save it. We have become confused on even the definition of marriage or even what is -is.
We have denied God and he has denied us. It is time we fall on our knees and apologize to our maker. We need to get back to “in GOD is our trust” as the third verse of national anthem exhorts us. He is merciful and will even forgive us for this gravest of crimes against human dignity.
December 21st, 2007 at 12:30 am
Hey David,
Thanks for sharing this article. Personally, I feel VERY strongly against abortion.
An interesting note when I wrote this post. I naturally included the link to the National Right to Life website, because I was an active contributor for many years and knew of their cause, but I didn’t know of anything promoting the pro-choice movement.
When I googled on “Pro-Choice” the domain name prochoice.org came up, so I clicked on it figuring it was the most appropriate result for that search. I was somewhat shocked to find the name of the site to be “National Abortion Federation”.
So who’s kidding who here? Put aside the euphemisms…It’s not “Pro-Choice”…let’s call it what it is…it’s “Pro-Abortion” or “Pro-Death“.
Thanks again for sharing, David. By the way, I’ve joined on to be a Huckabee Ranger myself and am trying to raise some funds for Mike’s campaign as well. I’m just starting my pursuit, but you can read more about why “I Like Mike”.