The changing anti-choice voice

I was reading the fascinating blog by Libby-Anne when she posted this Abortion, murder and smokescreens 2 which was as informative for me about how much the conversation has been changed with respect to abortion. It also makes me wonder if pro choice voices understand the effects of not responding to that change. If people are truly growing up with the idea that a blob of cells is a human (humanity begin at conception so abortion is murder) then any talk of choice is irrelevant. And the crazy trans-vaginal ultrasounds are supposed to show those selfish women that there really is a teen-weeny baby in there that they just can't see.

Libby-Anne had an amazingly consistent viewpoint when she was anti-choice

But even with challenging these inconsistencies, you’re still going to run into true believers. When someone asked me years ago whether I would save a case of embryos or a toddler from a burning building, the question bothered me but I still answered consistently: the embryos. Similarly, I was not okay with any exception for rape or incest. A baby was a baby, no matter how conceived. Pointing out inconsistencies only ever made me resolve to be consistent in my opposition to the murder of babies.

I have also always had a consistent pro-choice view point. It's a personal choice as long as the pregnancy is at a point where the fetus is totally dependent on the woman. The thing to do is prevent pregnancy by education and freely available contraception so women don't have to make that choice. I used to think I would never choose to have an abortion but I did. Twice. Once for a viable ectopic pregnancy (oh did I want that child) and once for a stalled pregnancy.


Will education and contraception rid the world of abortion? No it won't. All contraception has a failure rate although if all parties are using contraception then the probability of both failing at the same time is infinitesimal. In a perfect world we would be able to remove an embryo and transplant it to a surrogate mother or artificial uterus. Even so, not every fetus is able to make it to term and to carry a dead or as good as dead child would be torture if the woman didn't choose that task.


So what would be an effective response to life beginning at conception, I have to admit that is such an alien concept that I have a hard time believing people actually think a blob of cells is equivalent to a human. Agree that every unwanted pregnancy is a tragedy so pregnancies need to be prevented. Use the term anti-choice rather than pro life.