Secular Pro-Life
  • Home
  • About
    • Meet The Team
    • Mission and Vision
    • Stances
      • Abortion
      • Religion
      • Contraception
      • The Rape Exception
  • Content
    • Index
    • Blog
    • Myths
    • Research
      • Abortion Law and Abortion Rates
      • Abortion Law and Pregnancy Rates
      • Later Abortion
      • Embryonic Hearts
      • Abortion Views and Gender
    • Collections
      • For the biology textbook tells me so
      • Fixed that meme for you
      • They can hear you
      • Parents can hear you
      • Our children’s heartbeats
      • Becoming Pro-Life
    • Publications
      • Overview Brochure
      • Why Secular People Should Care
    • Store
  • Contact
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Donor Opportunities
    • Why support SPL?
  • Donate
  • Menu Menu

Choice, rights, and consensus

January 22, 2013/0 Comments/in Uncategorized /by Kelsey Hazzard

[Today’s post is part of the national “Ask Them What They Mean by ‘Choice’ Day,” a response to NARAL’s “Blog for Choice” event.]

The argument for “choice” is simple. The abortion debate is unending. Since people will never come to a consensus, we should just leave it to the individual conscience.
“Now that I’m safe, I’m pro-choice”

It’s an appealing position, because there are many issues where a “choice” approach is completely appropriate. Take religion, for example. There is a huge diversity of opinion on religious matters, beginning with the basic question of whether or not a deity or deities exist, and continuing down to the tiniest doctrinal detail. Many communities and nations have tried to force a consensus, with disastrous results. A religious consensus is extremely unlikely, if not impossible. Therefore, the founders of the United States wisely took a pro-choice stance on religion in the First Amendment.

But freedom of religion has its limits. If the Westboro Baptist Church crazies ever progress from picketing to outright violence against gays and lesbians, they will not be able to avoid criminal penalties on the ground that it was a “matter of individual conscience.” Choice does not extend that far. Every human being—male and female, young and old, citizen and non-citizen—has a fundamental right to be free from violence.
And that is why abortion cannot be defended on the basis of “choice.” We cannot simply ignore the harm to the unborn child. That harm exists whether or not a majority consensus acknowledges it. 
Of course, the pro-choice argument on abortion has another fatal flaw: as soon as a pro-life consensus does emerge, its premises collapse. For several years in a row, pro-life Americans have outnumbered pro-choice Americans. This trend is especially strong in young adults, the builders of our future national consensus. No doubt these polls were a factor in Planned Parenthood’s recent decision to drop the phrase “pro-choice.”

Related Posts

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
  • Link to Instagram
https://secularprolife.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/SecularProlife2.png 0 0 Kelsey Hazzard https://secularprolife.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/SecularProlife2.png Kelsey Hazzard2013-01-22 12:22:002021-11-08 12:38:46Choice, rights, and consensus
0 replies

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Follow via Email

* indicates required

Categories

  • Ableism
  • Abortion pills
  • Administrative
  • Adoption and Foster Care
  • Biology
  • Bodily Rights
  • en español
  • Late-Term Abortion
  • Legislation, laws, and court cases
  • Miscarriage & Pregnancy Loss
  • Personhood
  • Philosophy
  • Pro-Life Demographics
  • Rape Exception
  • Religion
  • Research
  • SPL Emails
  • Uncategorized
  • We Asked You Answered
  • Your Stories

Archive

As the national conversation on abortion intensifies, it’s more important than ever that we demonstrate that anyone can–and everyone should–oppose abortion. Thanks to you, we are working to change minds, transform our culture, and protect our prenatal children. Every donation supports our ability to provide nonsectarian, nonpartisan arguments against abortion. Please donate today.

DONATE
© Copyright 2023 Secular Pro-Life. All rights reserved. Website Design by TandarichGroup

Related Posts

Secular Pro-Life joins the PIE Project Audio: Appearance on WBEZ
Scroll to top