What "Pro-Life" means to me.

Published on March 4, 2005 By Gideon MacLeish In Politics

"Pro-life" is one of the most bandied about, politicized words in the American lexicon today. Its narrow definition is applied by the media only to those who not only oppose abortion, but actively lobby for its illegalization.

But I have a different take on the issue. "Pro-life" is a combination of words whose meaning shouldn't be changed for political convenience. I consider myself prolife and apply the following definitions:

Antiabortion: with a qualifier here, I am firmly against abortion as a moral practice,but recognize that in an imperfect world it may, at times constitute a lesser of two evils where the choice of abortion might actually be life affirming. Though I feel that those are the minority of cases,I am strongly against anti abortion legislation that allows the GOVERNMENT to dictate when and why abortion is "morally acceptable".
Antiwar: I again acknowledge the plausibility of a "just war", but feel that only a TINY minority of wars in world history meet this criterion. War is the taking of human lives for political gain, and most of the casualties of war are not necessarily ideologically aligned with the government they are fighting (Iraq being a prime example: most of those soldiers were CONSCRIPTS). In short,war is one of the worst forms of POST natal abortion inflicted on humankind.
Anti death penalty: My previous blog states some of my feelings on this. I feel that the death penalty's main detraction is that it is final, and it denies grace, something that I as a Christian feel to be an essential component of my belief system
Anti poverty: Poverty (and I'm talking about REAL poverty, not the American standard of poverty; Bakerstreet gave a far clearer definition of poverty than I ever could on his blog) is one of the most prolific killers in human history. Poverty is usually a byproduct of war and human greed, and again as a Christian,I feel that we must take great efforts to reduce poverty and reach out to our fellowman (although,most importantly, NOT as an evangelical tool, as so many Christians have used it). Although we will never see the complete eradication of poverty,we should concentrate our efforts to minimize it as much as possible.

And there you have it, in a nutshell. The four qualifiers I place on "prolife" (and why I don't fit well into either major political party).

Comments

bakerstreet

on Mar 04, 2005

1) I lean further toward a total ban. IMHO, "the life of the mother" stuff is just an excuse. Historically abortion has been totally illegal, and doctors were faced with "save the child or save the mother" situations without fearing prosecution. That, in my opinion, isn't "abortion", it is a doctor treating an patient in urgent need. If the woman loses the baby, it isn't because she chose to abort it.

2) I agree mostly, though I think you underestimate how many lives are in danger at any time when someone like Hussein is in power. Sure, we are going to kill hesitant soldiers, but it is in the pursuit of ending the torture, amputation, beheading, etc., of other Iraqis.

Honestly, war isn't usually "Do what we say, or we'll kill you." Hussein had a decade to change the way his nation functioned. The Taliban conciously chose to thwart the will of the world and create a dangerous medieval state. Sure "threat" is pretty subjective in most cases, but most of the worlds worst villains were poo-pooed as threats until they had gained dangerous power.

3) I have to respectfully disagree. Not based upon flaws in your ideals, just differences in opinion. Prisoners sit on death row for decades, with plenty of access to clergy. Sure, they might otherwise change their perspective at 80, but it is a matter of cause and effect. They brought about the effect, not the state. I don't think there's really any way to prove one perspective over another, it is totally subjective.

4)I agree. To me, personal empowerment is the real way to defeat poverty. People need the ability to relocate to areas with jobs. Local governments need to be rewarded for being empoyer-friendly, instead of reaping the benefits of screwing local entrepaneurs. The breaks and the benefit of the doubt need to be in the corner of those that are striving, not those who are sitting around claiming there is nothing to do. Thanks, btw.

Dr Guy

on Mar 04, 2005

All well and good. But instead of being 4 antis, why dont you re-phrase them as 4 pros? Looking at "anti this and anti that" is negative, and each could be stated in a positive way (e.g. Pro Peace).

Just a thought.

Gideon MacLeish

on Mar 04, 2005

dr.Guy,

Excellent thought; however, I do have a reason. Because I also do not feel it is wrong to be against evil in any form, and everything I am "anti-" is something that I perceive to be evil. But it is a great suggestion nonetheless.

Baker,

On the issue of abortion, personally, and ideologically, I would prefer to see it eliminated. Unfortunately, its elimination would only come about through a change in the public perception of abortion; with a population that is increasingly convinced that morals are subjective (note: no contradiction here and in my other article; VALUES are subjective, MORALS,in my opinion, aren't), it is becoming less likely.

As to the issue of war,I kind of hit on my feelings towards it in my "Values are subjective" article. I have a big problem with this conflict,and am sincere in my hope that the good that arises from it (freedom for Iraqis) outweighs the evil.

On death penalty, I hit further on that one in a recent article.

Excellent responses,as always.

latour999

on Mar 04, 2005

Gideon, I find it interesting that I agree with you on pretty much all 4, yet you describe yourself as a libertarian and I tend to be pretty much a socialist, which tends to make us pretty much opposites. Plus I also favor ending the war on drugs, which has recently claimed the lives of 4 RCMP officers in Alberta. Interesting how we tend to be opposites and agree on this.

Gideon MacLeish

on Mar 05, 2005

latour,

Yes, and it also serves to underscore why we need to put aside partisanship when it comes to finding REAL solutions to these issues.

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