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Pro Life

Honest Thoughts on the Meaning of Being Pro Life

By David L BishopPublished 3 years ago 6 min read
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So you say that you are a proud member of the Pro-Life movement. When I hear somebody make that statement, I often have to use all of my self-control to not laugh. Before I go further, I will state that I absolutely believe there are people in this country who value life. It’s just that they all tend to be members of the Democratic Party and do not use the term pro-life. Of course, there is no way I can know everybody in the country, so I can’t say for certain that there aren’t Republican Party members who are genuinely pro-life. Then again, I also can’t say for certain that bigfoot doesn’t exist or that aliens don’t live among us. To me, it is very simple to see which side of the aisle actually cares about life and which side does not. If only laws regarding honest labeling applied to movements as well as food products.

The movement claiming to be pro-life is honestly nothing of the sort. Yes, they oppose abortion, but that is not pro-life. Opposing abortion is nothing more than being anti-abortion. Honestly, if you look at the trends of voting records for elected officials and other opinions voiced by those claiming to be pro-life, there is simply no way to believe the label is accurate. In fact, these people seem to be quite the opposite of pro-life on nearly every issue.

I’ll start with the abortion argument simply because so many see that as the only issue that matters for this discussion. As I stated, being anti-abortion is not pro-life. That is merely trying to control others and enforce your beliefs on the country. For many, the pro-life fight ends as soon as the baby is born. They simply do not care at that point and can relax, patting each other on the back for protecting another life. A person who truly cares about the value of life does not see this as the end of the fight. Actually, after the baby is born is where the need for caring people who value life truly becomes apparent. Unless you are financially well off or happen to have a reliable family support system, having a family in this country is a constant struggle.

If everybody waited until they were actually financially equipped to support a child without struggle, the only people having children would be the top 1% of the population. Naturally, that is not something I am endorsing at all. Everybody else just has to do their best. This is where genuinely being pro-life would make a real difference in this country. Daycare, diapers, food, clothes, car seats, and the rest of the never-ending list continue to add up quickly. Most jobs do not offer much, if any, regarding paid leave. This is a concept most pro-life members laugh at, falling back on the tired argument that you shouldn't have a baby if you can’t afford it. With no paid leave, time off has to be rushed to avoid losing too much income. Daycare is expensive, but again, most of those claiming to value life throw their arms up in disgust at any suggestion of helping. The same pattern exists for food, healthcare, education, and on down the line. Those problems aren’t seen to be the responsibility of anybody other than a parent. In other words; the child was born, now they are on their own to have a life.

The truly ironic thing that gets ignored by those falsely claiming to be pro-life is that if they actually got off their soapboxes and quit preaching at people they deem as needing saving, they could accomplish the goal they claim to care so much about. Countless studies over the years have shown money to be at the top of the list for reasons why a woman gets an abortion. So, if the pro-life movement cared about reducing abortions, it seems quite simple. All they need to do is actually be pro-life and support policies and programs that help families. Sadly, instead of actually helping, they seem to prefer to declare themselves morally superior and shame anybody who is not exactly like them.

I have always found it interesting that they consider it murder to have an abortion and claim it is playing God to undo the child you were supposed to have according to the plan. Then, at the same time, they turn a blind eye to fertility clinics. If it is against God to end a pregnancy you were given, it clearly must also be against God to artificially create a pregnancy when one couldn’t be had naturally. Just to be clear, I do not think that at all. I simply feel if the argument is used for one condition, it must also be applied to the other. I guess it is ok to play God and alter the plan when you can only do it with lots of money. Not to mention, once done playing God and creating life where none was supposed to exist, all of the extra “supplies” tend to find their way to the medical waste bins with no cries of indignation for those potential lives being lost.

Moving away from abortion and fertility to other aspects of life, the label still does not apply to those on the right. Supporting the death penalty, denying healthcare, making education unaffordable, and encouraging never-ending and pointless wars to justify bloated military contracts all stand in direct opposition to being pro-life. These positions limit the growth of society and weaken the economy, which in turn devalues life even further. Yet, nearly every member of the pro-life movement I have met seems just fine with this pattern. Many even deny reality by claiming these policies make us stronger through adversity. If that is indeed the design they want society to follow, let’s do it all the way. In many ancient civilizations, the young boys often had to fight to the death so that only those worthy survived. Actually, that would be better than what we currently have in this country. At least there, they were all trained and given a chance. In modern America, your path is essentially chosen for you by the family you are born into. Nothing pushed by these people shows any indication that they actually value life, and I’m tired of letting them pretend.

So, no, I don’t see any reason to change my view that the only people who are actually pro-life in this country are on the left side of the political spectrum. The right can use the label of pro-life, but it is nothing more than a bald-faced lie. Then again, perhaps the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is not the terrible place we make North Korea out to be. After all, they clearly must be a democratic republic. It’s in the name so it must be true, right pro-lifers?

opinion
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David L Bishop

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