Why can't one be pro-life and pro-choice. I sure am. I believe in life

[efhmc]

and creating and nourishing it (which I think is much more important than the creating. It certainly is harder.)and I believe in the choice of doing that very thing.

[Viking12]

1. That's how I would describe myself.

Choice is just that. Choice to believe and act as you wish. I have no place interferring with the reproductive choices of a woman.

[efhmc]

3. You know that is what I think a real liberal is. They have their own

thoughts and ideas and they think others have the right to do so also. What a great way to live.

[ezee]

8. Iam with you guys!

[efhmc]

14. Of course you are. That is why you are wise and you are smart and

you are here.

[freetobegay]

2. Pro choice has nothing to do with pro life

I hate abortion to the point I detest it! But I am a firm believer in the woman's right to choose is greater than what I think.

[efhmc]

7. I am a feminist with 2 daughters and I have taught them that

their bodies belong to them. One is not married and one has 2 little ones. I, personally, can not think of a having an abortion but I can see and have seen where that choice might be an option for others. Really not my right to make that choice for other folks, since I do not lead their lives.

[Doctor_J]

4. Most of us are

the correct term for the fundies is "anti-choice", which is what they are. Most of them are ardent supporters of war and capital punishment, so pro-life is a gross misnomer.

[efhmc]

11. Wow, what a true statement. I am anti -taking other's lives so I guess

that makes me pro-life. Why do the fundies get to use that term?

[gemlake]

13. Vast majority, I believe n/t

[Kanary]

5. What you're describing is what Pro-Choice people have said all these years

It's just the propaganda of the reich wing that labels us as "baby killers".

I don't know ANYONE who thinks abortion is wonderful. I would doubt there are any.

Kanary

[efhmc]

15. You know thinking and feeling people know that "life" is not always

easy, straight, or understandable and sometimes choices that are hard have to be made.

[hippiechick]

6. Exactly, which is why the Fundies took that moniker ...

To make it look like the 'pro choice' people are actually 'anti-life' as opposed to being 'anti-interfering in a woman's personal medical decisions'.

Somehow we need to reframe that debate and reveal them for what they are, hypocritical meddlers. How many clinic protesters have offered to adopt and raise the babies they're trying to 'save' ?? How many clinic protesters are FOR free prenatal health care, daycare and early childhood education ? Oh, they want the babies born alright, so they can ignore them once they're here and then either send them to war or to prison while blaming their parent(s). Go figure.

Don't get me started ...

:hippie:

[efhmc]

17. We had a client when I worked as a volunteer in Houston that had 6

children. She had saved some money to get away from her husband and go to school. He found out about it, raped her, made her pg and then she came to us for help. Our case manager (a Catholic) asked me to sign off on money to get her an abortion. I did it for her but it really brought this whole thing home to me. The client was given no choice so we help make it for her. I would still do the same thing today but it made a big personal impact on me in a way that I would never have had to deal with in my own personal life.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

9. It is much more consistent to be pro-choice and to personally not

care for abortion or like it than it is to claim you are PRO-LIFE and not be out protesting against the death penalty or war.

[efhmc]

18. So true.

[Skittles]

10. efhmc

the definition of pro-life for conservatives is care that starts at conception and ends in the delivery room. They aren't any more pro-life than they are for equal rights or civil rights. It's all about controlling people.

[efhmc]

19. My answer to this, and you can ask others who know me if think this

is just rhetoric, is "Oh, that 's nice and how many crack-cocaine babies of mixed race do you have in your home?" This usually shut them down real fast.

[damnyankee]

12. Because 'pro-life' is a facade for 'anti-choice.'

If they were truly pro-life, they'd care about life after birth. And they'd distinguish between a human person's life and an embryo.

Now, after viability, after brain birth -- there's an area that should be discussed. But you won't find the anti-choice crowd discussing it, just trying to push their theocracy on the rest of us.

[dogman]

16. The media lets them define us

They throw out these labels and the media accepts and repeats them. RW talk radio defines the far left as anything right of center on. they define liberal as less than human. They define family values as they see them. We need better spokesman to take our side and define it. Carville has done some of this. Clark made it one of the key points of his candidacy. He said I'm a liberal. he said Dem values are family values. This is one thing I would like to see Kerry be more bold about.

[efhmc]

20. I so agree. Maybe Kerry thinks he can not because he is divorced.

However, since he took care of the children after the divorce, I think he has a win-win situation here.

[lojasmo]

21. Anti-war, anti-Death Penalty, Anti-abortion

I guess that makes me pro-life.

Don't get me wrong, I support a woman's right to choose. I'm just saying, in MY case, it wouldn't be the right choice. Of course, I can't get pregnant, so it makes it easy for me, and If I did get pregnant, I'd be the first male to do so, and I'd be famous and rich.

[efhmc]

22. Are you a guy by any chance? If so, that makes you a great guy.

Edited to add, If not, that makes you a great gal.

[IronLionZion]

23. I am pro-life and pro-choice

the ideal choice is life but people should have the choice. The best way to combat abortions are to increase adoptions.

The only way to combat the death penalty is to remove the pro-death politicians from office.

reasons I am against the death penalty is mostly because of innocent people being killed and the the court costs are more than life in prison. I don't want to get into the morals because too many "Christians" love killing their fellow human beings.

[SharonAnn]

24. Actually, the best to combat abortions is to let women have

more control over their lives. Let women have low-cost (or free) access to birth-control. Provide financial support for a women and her child if she chooses to carry it to term. Provide good reproductive health care at a low-cost (or free) to all women. Provide free health care to all children. provide access to low-cost food and clothing for all children.

Provide low-cost(or free)day care. Provide low-cost (or free) after school care for their children.

These are the things that will encourage women to:
1. Use birth control if they don't want to have children
2. Carry a pregnancy to term and keep (or adopt out) the child if they do get pregnant.

These things would actually work! What the &%$# are men thinking, trying to ban abortion. What are they doing to the men who got these women pregnant?

[IronLionZion]

27. then conservatives scream socialism

and the nanny state. I agree with the birth control 100% and the other stuff to a certain degree. Education can help reduce teen pregnancies.

And yes, girls don't get themselves pregnant. Men have something to do with it (so I hear). But adoption is good. There are a lot of laws preventing good people from adopting, but any dumbass can make a baby.

[efhmc]

25. As a Christian, that was brought up to believe that all people are of

worth, I could never vote to convict anyone to die (where the hay would tiny little efhmc get that power?) But the other side of that is that I believe every human person, even those with wombs, have the God given right to conduct their (her) own lives. Again, old efhmc, does not have the right to interfer.

[John_H]

26. It all comes down to this

If you believe that human life begins at conception you have absolutely no logical choice other than believing that abortion is homicide. If not, it's a medical procedure not ethically different from any other.

[efhmc]

28. I absolutely do not believe that this is correct. As a thinking person

and a scientist I know that those few cells can not exist outside my womb and so they are not life they are parasites. They are cells destined to perhaps to be human. But they are not human.

[Must_B_Free]

29. They are human potential

The whole idea is that we revere life so much that we support it all we can.

I don't side with a decision to have an abortion. I think at worst - discomfort yourself for 9 months and give it away. Is 9 months of inconvenience not worth a human life?

We need to respect life enough to preserve it. If people will give their lives to save lives, why can't someone inconvenience themself to do the same?

As far as legislating the body, I am against it. I don't think you can pass laws to make this work.
But I am grossed out by someone like Sinead O'conner who had 6 abortions and sees it as a form of birth control. I think we should encourage people to have a little more personal responsibility and more respect for life than abortion for convenience.