Pro-Life, Pro-Choice and the Pandemic

[talloak]

Classic example of a Pro-Choice protester

Many, if not most Americans identify strongly as either Pro-Life or Pro-Choice. Almost all of them equate these labels with their stand on abortion. But the labels can and should apply to other stands as well. To my thinking, abortion is one of the least applicable topics related to this divide. Only a small percentage of Americans are directly affected by abortion. Every American is affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and each of us must pick a side as either Pro-Life or Pro-Choice. Are you willing to sacrifice all of your non-essential choices by avoiding contact with others to save lives? Then you are Pro-Life. Do you believe that you have rights to do what you want even if your actions infect and often kill others? Then you are Pro-Choice. Do you generally stay at home but occasionally sneak out to church or to socialize? Then you are pretending to be Pro-Life but in reality, you are Pro-Choice. Taking a position on a theoretical position that doesn’t actually affect you personally means nothing. It is the positions that affect your life, and especially the sacrifices you make that define you.

When it comes to Covid-19, the majority of Americans are Pro-Life: they are making all the necessary personal sacrifices to protect the lives of others. This body cuts across every demographic and ideology. However, when you compare ideologies and those who are the most passionately Pro-Life or Pro-Choice, you discover an ironic twist. The most strongly Pro-Life are liberals and the most strongly Pro-Choice are conservatives. Who could have guessed that we had this divide backwards all these years?

A Summary of the Political Divide

Conservatives:

Strongly Pro-Choice

Liberals:

Strongly Pro-Life

Apolitical:

Neither concerned with defending assumed rights or protecting life, just purely selfish

[Adam1978]

Seems so reverse, liberal should be pro-choice, because individuals choice is the liberal route, Pro-life is really not even conservative it's let move back a couple of hundreds of year to when religion had a strangle hold on peoples life. Conservative should also be pro-choice. Because that is current status in modern western countries. Only countries without religious freedom choose no abortion. Because they have to enforce a religions view on the people.

[talloak]

A great many people of faith have ethical objections to abortion, and I respect that. Far too many stop caring about those lives the moment they are born. I cannot respect that. It is not a pro-life mindset. The majority of conservative leaders say they are pro-life because it automatically gains the support of millions of "single-button" voters. There are so many that care about nothing else, including life or death issues like the pandemic. Those politicians sacrifice nothing by saying they are against abortion. But I believe that most of them are pro-abortion. Almost none of them have daughters who are single mothers. Thus, a large percentage of their daughters have had abortions, probably with the "pro-life" parent's consent.

[Adam1978]

Yeah but the problem is that they can't accept others want to do other choices. No one is trying to force them to make abortion if they aren't in a suitable situation to become mothers. Well social office can take the baby away but they don't prevent drug addicts from being parents or even do drugs during the pregnancy. Which cause a fucked up kid. These people simply do not help the kid in question at all. We might get less kids with pro-choice but they certainly will have it better than under pro-life.

[Kurαȷ]

I don't really see any contradictions here.

Pro-life people don't give a flying shit about all the unwanted children who would be doomed to a miserable life in the foster care system without readily available abortions.

They are against abortions for very personal, subjective and selfish reasons.
Both being pro-life and pro "freedom to endanger others during a pandemic" are stances rooted in the same kind of selfishness and ignorance.

[talloak]

I've been arguing this for years, but this crisis makes the theoretical hypocrisy fully real.

[FictionalCharacter]

I do love the beach 🏖😎

[talloak]

So much that you're willing to potential infect and kill another person by going? If you love it more than human life, I call that a serious issue.

[FictionalCharacter]

I’m good 😇

[SecretGardenBlood65]

Sad take

[talloak]

Sad?