Difference between revisions of "Slogan:A woman's right to choose"
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| − | '''"A woman's right to choose"''' is a deliberately confusing slogan used by liberals to justify [[elective abortion]]. It combines in a tricky way the concept of choice as a "women's prerogative" with the general idea that | + | '''"A woman's right to choose"''' is a deliberately confusing slogan used by liberals to justify [[elective abortion]]. It combines in a tricky way the concept of choice as a "women's prerogative" with the general idea that adults should be free to make their own private medical decisions. |
| − | Both of these concepts assume that abortion is not a decision that affects the fate of another [[human being]]. One flaw with this argument is that the fetus is a human being with its own soul and (barring a situation where a woman aborts one of two identical twins) unique DNA. In reality, a woman's "right to choose" significantly affects at least | + | Both of these concepts assume that abortion is not a decision that affects the fate of another [[human being]]. One flaw with this argument is that the fetus is a human being with its own soul and (barring a situation where a woman aborts one of two identical twins) unique DNA. In reality, a woman's "right to choose" significantly affects at least three human beings: the mother, the child, and the father of the child, who is not given the right to choose. |
==Politics== | ==Politics== | ||
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It is one of the few sayings which is incomplete: "a woman's right to choose." Choose what? The answer, of course, being the death of a child in the womb. | It is one of the few sayings which is incomplete: "a woman's right to choose." Choose what? The answer, of course, being the death of a child in the womb. | ||
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==See also== | ==See also== | ||
*[[Pro-life]] | *[[Pro-life]] | ||
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| + | [[Category:Abortion]] | ||
| + | [[Category:United States Political Terms]] | ||
Revision as of 20:29, November 13, 2014
"A woman's right to choose" is a deliberately confusing slogan used by liberals to justify elective abortion. It combines in a tricky way the concept of choice as a "women's prerogative" with the general idea that adults should be free to make their own private medical decisions.
Both of these concepts assume that abortion is not a decision that affects the fate of another human being. One flaw with this argument is that the fetus is a human being with its own soul and (barring a situation where a woman aborts one of two identical twins) unique DNA. In reality, a woman's "right to choose" significantly affects at least three human beings: the mother, the child, and the father of the child, who is not given the right to choose.
Politics
The position is pro-abortion (or "pro-choice"). According to the Style Manual of the liberal Associated Press, the correct term is "pro-abortion rights" because someone can support a right to abortion without personally supporting abortion itself. Although conservatives would argue this position is illogical since one should not personally oppose murder but think it should be legal, it is at least theoretically possible to hold this view.
The argument expressed by the phrase is that the decision to have an elective abortion is always and necessarily a private matter between a woman and her doctor. It implies that the decision is simply "a matter of choice", and that no one else has a high enough stake in the matter to overrule her choice.
This position is also called pro-choice and generally is favored by social liberals. It is opposed by social conservatives who regard themselves as pro-life.
It is one of the few sayings which is incomplete: "a woman's right to choose." Choose what? The answer, of course, being the death of a child in the womb.