By CANTON WINER

MANAGING EDITOR

Many people are caught between the two polarized labels that dominate the debate over abortion. (Graphic by Kate Doheny/The Ram)

As the son of two bleeding-heart liberals, one of whom is a raging feminist, I practically “knew” I was pro-choice before I knew how to spell it. It was not until I was confronted by the pro-life movement at Fordham that I realized I was also pro-life.

Yes, I am pro-life and pro-choice.

I strongly oppose the death penalty and am against war at all costs. I believe that killing is wrong and should, in cases such as capital punishment, be illegal. In this sense, I am pro-life.

I do not, however, believe that abortion is an act of killing. There is no scientific consensus as to when life begins. The question is a matter of personal opinion. Abortion should thus be left to private individuals’ discretion. In this sense, I am pro-choice.

Many people find the pro-life and pro-choice labels constricting. They do not feel that either term accurately describes them. Their beliefs, like mine, transcend the pithy two-word label.

To see how my views fit with those of others, I interviewed three women at Fordham from fairly diverse backgrounds and upbringings: Courtney Smith, Mary Frances Richardson and Courtney Code, all FCRH ’15. All three expressed frustration regarding the pro-choice/pro-life labels.

“I think that the terms [pro-life and pro-choice] are too black and white,” Smith, a communication and media studies major from Boca Raton, Fla., said. “These two choices eliminate other things you can agree with.”

The current language surrounding abortion shoves many individuals out of the debate. The question is all too often not “What are your beliefs on abortion?” but “Are you pro-life or pro-choice?”

I am not the only one who feels this way.

“I’m technically ‘pro-choice,’ but I hate answering that question,” Code, an English major from New Orleans, La., said. “It boxes me in somehow.”

While the discomfort that the labels can cause is concerning, they pose a far more troubling problem. The terms allow people to develop a knee-jerk attitude on the issue of abortion and prevent people from thinking carefully about their views.

The pro-life/pro-choice dichotomy does not allow for much intellectual wiggle room. The labels suggest that there are only two potential opinions on the issue of abortion when, in reality, a full spectrum of beliefs exists.

Code, who said that her views on abortion are constantly evolving, noted that the current labels are inadequate for an issue as complex as abortion.

“If I had to label myself, it would take me a week to come up with something,” Code said. “And then it would change a week after that.”

Code said that her personal development has ranged from being passionately pro-life in early high school to more pro-choice today.

“In high school, I wanted to go to the March for Life because I have always prioritized human life,” Code said. “At that stage in my life, I hadn’t engaged with the question thoroughly. The only argument I heard [at my Catholic high school] about ‘the other side’ was that they considered fetuses inhuman. I don’t think I understood what the choice in pro-choice meant.”

The current use (and massive oversimplification) of the pro-life and pro-choice labels hinders people from realizing their true beliefs. It stifles the evolution in belief noted by Code. But, Code’s experience with evolving views on abortion is not unusual. The usual public screaming match suggests that the pro-life and pro-choice philosophies are diametrically opposed, leading to an either-or mentality.

“I feel that in this debate, each side picks a side to root for,” Code said, “but this isn’t a football game.”

Members of both camps have demonized “the other side,” causing national debate to lay a putrid hole strewn with hisses of “bigot,” “slut” and worse.

Richardson, a sociology major from Melrose, Mass., said that inaccurate, negative stereotypes accompany both labels.

“I feel like pro-choice people are almost labeled as baby killers and pro-life people are labeled as extreme conservatives or as attacking abortion clinics,” Richardson said.

Name calling aside, the pro-life and pro-choice ideologies are actually reconcilable. Smith, for example, said that she would not personally get an abortion, but that she thinks other women should be free to make that decision themselves.

“I am personally Pro-Life but publicly pro-choice,” Smith said.

Even with the emergence of individuals like Smith who bridge the gap between the pro-life and pro-choice camps, intense polarization still hangs over the abortion debate.

Many myths surround the terms pro-life and pro-choice, smothering constructive dialogue and breeding misunderstanding. To better understand all sides of the debate, we must snuff out these myths.

Pro-life has been hijacked to mean anti-choice.

Some radicals within the “pro-life” movement desire to mandate morality by making abortion illegal.

“Somehow pro-life has come to mean anti-choice,” Code said. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”

Code joins a growing, but quiet, chorus of individuals who consider themselves pro-life and still support the right of the individual to choose to receive an abortion.

“I am pro-choice for pro-life reasons,” Code said. “I’m stereotypically pro-choice’ because I personally align with the school of thought that the only person who can make that choice [whether or not to receive an abortion] is the mother. For someone else to make that decision for her is to disrespect her life.”

An increasing number of people — particularly practicing Catholics like Code — believe that abortion ends a life and still identify as pro-choice. These people would not personally seek an abortion, but do not wish to deny that decision from others. They believe in freedom of choice, regardless of their personal convictions concerning abortion. Does believing in choice mean that they cannot also be pro-life?

Believing that life begins at conception might correspond to personal opposition to abortion. Some people, however, hold this belief and still consider abortion a matter of personal choice. These people are pro-life and agree with Roe v. Wade — yes, such a creature exists.

Smith said that there are multiple opinions on when life begins and that, consequently, abortion should be left to the individual.

“Not everyone believes that life begins at conception, so you can’t make that choice for everyone,” Smith said.

Many people, such as Richardson, simply feel uncomfortable defining where life begins.

“I don’t want to be the judge of saying when life exists,” Richardson said. “And I don’t want to tell anyone they are wrong for getting an abortion.”

There are many misunderstandings surrounding what it means to be pro-choice as well.

pro-choice is not a synonym for pro-abortion. Moreover, no one is pro-abortion and no one is anti-life.

“A lot of pro-choice people would never get an abortion,” Smith said.

Code and Richardson said they both fall into this camp.

“I would absolutely not get an abortion [at this point in my life],” Code said. “But I feel that I can’t make that call for other women. I feel like I can’t even make that call for my future self.”

Richardson agreed.

“Personally, I would never get an abortion,” Richardson said. “But I would also never condemn anyone for getting an abortion.”

Smith said that the pro-choice argument does not even have to relate primarily to abortion.

“I always thought that pro-choice has nothing to do with abortion or killing a child,” Smith said. “If the government can tell you that you can’t have an abortion, then they can tell you that you must have an abortion.”

Code also said that freedom of choice was an important factor for her on the issue of abortion.

“I’m ‘pro-choice’ because I think that being ‘pro-life’ is picking a side for someone else,” Code said.

We can continue to simplify the debate concerning abortion to screeches of baby killer, idiot, evildoer or woman hater, but that serves no one. No freedoms, liberties or lives are saved by demonization. The current labels and the way we use them lead to unnecessary gridlock and animosity.

The terms pro-life and pro-choice are convenient, but they dumb down discussion on a very complex issue to an either-or dichotomy.

Furthermore, because each label has its own “spin” (pro-life sounds better than anti-choice, and pro-choice sounds better than pro-abortion), they are fairly meaningless.

We must stop clinging to our labels. When asked what our beliefs on abortion are, we must not reply simply “I am pro-______.” We must reject the terms pro-life and pro-choice and instead truly explain what we believe. Now is the time to look beyond the label and think.

Canton Winer, FCRH ’15, is an American studies major from West Palm Beach, Fla.

Categories: Opinion

Tags: Abortion, CANTON WINER, pro-choice, pro-life