Pro-choice
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Image:Roevwade.jpg Pro-choice refers to a political movement supporting the legal right to abortion. More generally, it refers to supporting reproductive rights, which includes the use of contraception and fertility treatments.
The essential stance of the pro-choice movement is that the woman should, in almost all cases, be the one to decide the reproductive fate of her own body. By this reasoning, China (which has, in the past, allegedly forced abortions and sterilizations on women <ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4262890.stm</ref>) and El Salvador (which protects from the moment of conception) are both equally anti-choice and therefore, are opposed with equal vehemence. Template:Fact
Many pro-choice activists believe that abortion should be a legal option for any woman with an unwanted pregnancy. Some see abortion as a last resort, and focus on a number of situations where they feel abortion is a necessary option. Among these situations are those where the woman was raped, her health or life is at risk, birth control was used but failed, or she feels unable to raise a child. Some pro-choice moderates, who would otherwise be willing to accept certain restrictions on abortion, feel that political pragmatism compels them to oppose any such restrictions, as they could be used to form a slippery slope against all abortions. Template:Fact
Pro-choice activists frequently oppose legislative measures that would require abortion providers to make certain statements (some of which are factually disputed) to patients, because they argue that these measures are intended to make obtaining abortions more difficult. These measures fall under the rubric of "informed consent" or "right to know" laws.Template:Fact
Pro-life and pro-choice individuals often use political framing to convey their perspective on the issues, and in some cases, to discredit opposing views. Pro-life people tend to use terms such as "mother", "unborn child", "unborn baby", or "pre-born infant". Pro-choice people tend to use terms such as "zygote", "embryo" or "fetus". Each side accuses the other of using a preferred set of loaded terms.
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Term controversy
The Oxford English Dictionary lists the usage of "pro-choice" at least as early as 1975, around the time when the question of the legality of abortion became increasingly discussed after Roe v. Wade (the term "choice" is used to describe options towards abortion in the case as well).
Both "pro-choice" and "pro-life" are examples of political framing: they are terms which purposely try to define their philosophies in the best possible light, while by definition attempting to describe their opposition in the worst possible light (being "anti-choice" or "pro-death").
Opponents of the pro-choice view sometimes refer to people who are pro-choice with what can be considered pejorative terms such as "anti-life" or "pro-abortion". Many pro-choice individuals object to this nomenclature, claiming that they are obviously advocating for every woman's life. They emphasize their beliefs that women's lives are better when they are not forced to go through an unwanted pregnancy, and that both parents' and children's lives are better off when the woman is not denied abortion. Medical studies have definitely supported the latter.
Their belief is framed in the broader categories of individual liberty and "reproductive freedom" or "reproductive rights".
In addition, some pro-choice individuals who object to abortion on a moral basis, or who believe that abortion is still an undesirable experience for the woman undergoing it even if the consequences of not having an abortion are worse, also reject the label "pro-abortion". "Pro-choice" equates with a political mindset that often includes being pro-contraceptive options. Some pro-choice individuals state that they desire the number of abortions to decrease, but not because of legislation banning procedures. They argue that abortion ought to decrease by providing comprehensive sex education and birth control education programs, increased access to birth control or contraception options, and increased education about proper use of birth control becoming accessible to all.
One view on how to resolve the dispute is simply to accept the terms each group uses for itself. The press, however, has largely adopted the framing of the pro-choice movement and consistently uses the terms "pro-choice" and "anti-abortion".
Political views
Image:March.jpg People who identify as pro-choice fall along a spectrum of political opinion, ranging from the view that all abortions should be legal, to the view that abortions should only be legal until a certain date in the progression of the pregnancy (such as the third trimester, which is the approximate gestational age at which a fetus can survive outside of a woman's body).
In its landmark 1973 case, Roe v. Wade, the US Supreme Court held that the abortion right was absolute during the first and second trimesters of a pregnancy, but that the state's interest in protecting "potential life" prevailed in the third trimester unless the woman's health was at risk. In subsequent rulings, the Court rejected the trimester framework altogether in favor of a cutoff at the point of fetal viability (Cf. Planned Parenthood v. Casey).
Opponents of legal abortion often refer to themselves as pro-life. Pro-lifers also hold diverse opinions, ranging from the view that all abortions should be illegal, to the view that abortion should only be legal in limited circumstances, such as pregnancy by rape, incest, or when there are fetal deformities or medical complications to pregnancy.
Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America are the leading pro-choice advocacy and lobbying groups in the United States. Most major feminist organizations also support pro-choice positions.
In the United States, the Democratic Party's platform endorses a pro-choice position, stating that abortion should be "safe, legal, and rare". Not all Democrats agree with the platform however, and there is growing support in Congress and among rank and file members for Democrats for Life of America.Template:Fact The 2004 Republican platform is explicitly pro-life, advocating a Constitutional amendment banning abortion.
References
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See also
- Abortion
- Anti-abortion
- Pro-life
- Procreative liberty
- Reproductive rights
- South Dakota reproductive rights controversy