Here's an excerpt from the post:
Pro-Life advocacy, then, is often (consciously or unconsciously) really a way to get sexually promiscuous people to face the "consequences" of sexual activity. The focus on life is often cover for Puritanical worries about sexuality in modern America. Why do I draw this conclusion? Because most Pro-Life people I know are only Pro-Life in this one area, and only in this one area. They are not, generally speaking, consistently Pro-Life. For example, most Pro-Life people are...There are several well-worn straw men here. Let me break them down:
...not Pro-Life when it comes to gun control.
...not Pro-Life when it comes to preemptive war.
...not Pro-Life when it comes to capital punishment.
...not Pro-Life when it comes to global malnourishment.
...not Pro-Life when it comes to universal health care.
...not Pro-Life when it comes to entitlement programs for the women and children of the working poor (to remove the economic incentives for abortion).
...not Pro-Life in promoting condom usage to prevent teenage pregnancy or AIDS in developing nations.
Gun Control: I think most Pro-Life, anti-gun-control folks feel that carrying a gun is a matter of a defense, to protect lives from homicidal criminals. It's certainly not a perfect argument, I'm personally in favor of stricter gun-control laws in most cases, but it's not inconsistent.
Preemptive War: This must refer to the Iraq war, and I think saddling Pro-Life supporters with it is incorrect. Accepting the imperfect generalization that most Pro-Lifers are on the right, the Iraq war had bipartisan support when it began and bipartisan opposition a few years later. The issue was key to Obama capturing the votes of right-leaning folks which helped him win the '08 election.
Capital Punishment: Regardless of the powerful arguments on both sides of this issue, it is untenable to unequivocally equate taking the life of what many believe to be an unborn child with taking the life of someone who has been convicted of killing another human being.
Global Mal-Nourishment: How you figure? I think many Pro-Life folks, including the ones I know, are very concerned about global poverty and in most cases put their money where their mouth is, sponsoring children in poverty-stricken nations, donating food and clothes, and giving to such causes regularly.
Universal Health Care: It may be true that there is a link between universal health care and life expectancy. But determining that this is true in every case possible would be so difficult that I don't find it inconsistent for someone to be Pro-Life and favor a private health system.
Entitlement Programs for the Poor: Many Pro-Lifers care very much about the women and children of the working poor, so much so that they fund and foster organizations which reach out to these individuals. I understand the disagreements about whether these things should primarily be the work of churches and NGOs or the federal government, but neither position is anti-life.
Condom Use: I understand many Pro-Lifers are anti-birth-control for religious reasons, but many are not, including the vast majority of religious Pro-Life folks I know. I doubt characterizing "most" Pro-Life supporters this way is correct.
Cover for Puritanical worries about sexuality in modern America: In light of what I've written here, if you listen to any major Pro-Life group, I think you'll find that protecting the lives of who they consider unborn children is central to their message, not preventing sexual promiscuity.
If you're looking for an incredibly well-written piece about the Pro-Life position and the paradoxes of abortion in America, the same friend who shared the above blog post with me also shared this oped from the New York Times, which I highly recommend.
Image: used with permission from Florida Fruit & Citrus Crate Labels
Justin, thoughtful and well spoken response as usual. You're direct, fair, and won't stand by when people make generalizations without taking the time to understand the person or their intent -- don't change that.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Austin.
ReplyDeleteMany, maybe most, hunters are also anti gun control. Also has nothing to do with the prolife issue.
ReplyDeleteI would like to emphasize that Pro-life is not synonymous with "abstinence-only schooling promoter" or "anti-birth control" as they are often flippantly and mistakenly tied together in the media.
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