Letters to the Editor
-
The Right to Determine
Um, if you think that people should be able to choose to have a legal abortion, then you're ... pro ... choice?
What is it about the label that makes you uncomfortable?
A huge number of my family and friends belong to the evangelical movement, and, while I strongly disagree with them on matters political, I do not disown them because of their religious choices.
Here's how I (try to) talk to them about abortion.
The term "pro-choice", to them (not to me), sounds too trivial. They are aware of the dictionary definition of the concept "choice", but have heard it so often that it rings false for them. Sort of like how the GOP uses "demagogue" to mean "democrat" so often that it starts sounding like a synonym. Or if someone asks you if you want to "conserve" your buying and spending power, doesn't that make you a "conservative".
"Choice" to a Christian sounds like Folgers vs. Taster's Choice, Chevy vs. Ford, a trivial decision. If I use the phrase "right to determine" rather than "right to choose", I can usually come to some sort of understanding. Yes, this is a stupid way of using synonyms to mean the same thing, but if that's what it takes to clear the mist in front of the eyes, I'll use the different language.