Choice and choices are two very different concepts. To be pro-choice, in American culture today, is to support abortion. To be in favor of choices was the argument of Michael Csorba’s article “Strength in numbers: Abortion statistics tell the story” from the March 13th issue of The Mirror.
No need for a disclaimer, I’ll say it right out front, I am pro-life. I believe in the sanctity and dignity of all human life. I stand vehemently against the death penalty, support workers’ rights, oppose euthanasia, work to fight poverty and hunger, and am in favor of adult stem cell research, not embryonic stem cell research. And, yes, in the most classical sense of the term “pro-life” and in reaction to Katie Barry’s piece from last week’s Mirror, I am opposed to abortion.
While I am pro-life, I am also pro-choices, as is I would suspect Mr. Csorba. I am not in favor of abortion, but I believe that women facing unplanned pregnancy need to be made aware of all the choices available to them. From adoption to the network of social programs available to support mothers, the choices available are wide in scope and can be individualized to each parent’s needs. Abortion is among these choices, and as long as abortion is legal, it should not be left out of the list of options. However, this choice can not so simply be boiled down to choosing or not choosing abortion.
Ms. Barry speculates, and quite rightly, that that Mr. Csorba has probably never been to Planned Parenthood and seen the options that they present before going through with abortion; however, I would venture to guess that unlike Ms. Barry, who has worked on reproductive rights and is well versed on this issue, the general student population is not aware of the various options and resources available to them. Without knowledge of resources, the only apparent option is singular- abortion.
In “‘Women Deserve Better’ “, Ms. Barry repeatedly reprimands Mr. Csorba for making a moral judgment on women by equating abortion to murder. Yet, upon closer investigation of Mr. Csorba’s original article not once does he use the term murder or killing. In fact, the only time that such language is used is by myself, quoted in the article as a representative of Students for Life, Fairfield University’s pro-life organization, in reference to the crosses demonstration presented by Students for Life a few weeks ago.
This display was meant to bring the number of abortions preformed daily to the attention of the University community, not to condemn women who have had abortions. It was intended to educate the student body of a fact that is so often overlooked, not to pass judgment. The display did have moral implications, ones which can not be overlooked. Ms. Barry may in fact want to look at her own association of abortion with death and dying for answers.
Ultimately the display and the tag line “Women deserve better”, was meant to create discussion and call for the evaluation of pregnancy resources readily available on Fairfield University’s campus. This was the focus of Mr. Csorba’s article, to highlight the display and point out that women deserve to know all options that are available to them. While I am glad for Ms. Barry’s reaction, I feel she missed the point of the original article. I would have wished to get feed back from the larger student body, not one of the Mirror’s regular pundits.
Women deserve better. They deserve to know the truth, to know their options; not to be pigeon holed into abortion because it seems like the only choice. Students for Life is working to make both pregnancy and post-abortion resources readily known on campus, to promote education on issues such as abortion, and to ensure that choice is something that involves more than one option.
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