A wise friend of mine says that ironically pro-lifers are often arguing for choice. He pointed out that in a society where the default ‘choice’ position is to have an abortion, the challenge for pro-lifers is to make the decision a true choice. Once women have real choice, the challenge for pro-lifers is to switch gears and make the case for life. When women feel that the choice to have a baby is one that is not as terrible as their worst fears, most will choose life. I was reminded of those discussions when I read these comments by Andrea Mrozek at ProWomanProLife:
It is my strong feeling (read Giving Sorrow Words) that many women are looking not for a reason to abort but rather a reason not to. After all, in the UK and Canada everyone knows how to go off and get an abortion. It’s not altogether easy to envision doing the opposite in the early stages of an unwanted pregnancy.
Andrea is presenting an under-appreciated fact: women facing unwanted pregnancies do not typically want to get rid of their baby.
Society understands that people who want to kill themselves would prefer to live and actually want help to cope with their difficulties. That is, society sees suicide as a cry for help. We should take the same view of woman’s request for an abortion — a cry for help and not for abortion. The abortion-minded women needs assistance to deal with the difficulties that a new child and responsibilities might entail; she does not need to be hurried along to eliminate the child.
