We were weighing our options in regard to genetic testing, and whether we wanted to put ourselves through that; the rate of false positives, the risks of amnio on a healthy baby, etc. During that conversation, someone actually said to my husband and me, "It depends on if you are pro-life or pro-death." Really? I thought the one side was called pro-choice. Now, I am not here to debate politics or morality, so please, let's not (so if I can figure out how to turn off the comments, I will). However, I was very taken aback. I happen to be of a two-fold mind on this issue - one is in regard to my own morality, and one is in regard to forcing anyone else to live according to my morality. Therefore, I happen to believe morally in one position, and politically in the other. And neither is pro-death.
I personally see very few -if any - reasons that I might choose other than to take a pregnancy to term. That is my own moral viewpoint, it is what is right for me, for my family, for my views on religion and love and sex and family itself. However, I see more reasons why someone else may choose to make a different decision than I would. For all my complaining and self-pity about certain aspects of my life, for all the times I lacked self-esteem, I always was safe, I always had someone I knew loved me, I have never had to deal with the truly dark parts of this world. But I know there are women and girl who have not had that same experience and know that I could never tell them that they must choose what I would choose. "Judge not, lest ye be judged." Matthew 7:1
To call the one side "pro-life" and the other "pro-death" is to belittle the moral, spiritual, emotional and sometimes physical trauma that I think most women find themselves in if faced with this issue. Choice allows you choose. Hence the name. It allows the choice of life, which is not the equivalent of the offensive name this position was labeled. I understand the concept of opposites; but in this case - in my and just my opinion - the political sides of this issue are not opposites. I am pro-choice. For you. And pro-life. For me. The two are not mutually exclusive and my political views allow me to excercise my moral views. Hence "choice".
