Pro-life

page type::article thing type::political position

About
Pro-life refers to the view that any decision in which a human life is ended is wrong, regardless of the reason, and should be illegal in most if not all cases. Individuals who describe themselves as holding a "pro-life" decision may allow exceptions in some cases, but the default is a presumption that death is always wrongful.

Conclusions
Pro-life positions are rarely arrived at by rational analysis, and tend to fall apart quickly when examined. Those who defend it tend to respond with rhetorical deceptions – most commonly various forms of emotional appeal and changing the subject.

Although the name implies a respect for life, the consequences of political adoption of pro-life policies are to maximize reproduction – specifically births, live or otherwise – often at the expense of other lives. In other words, it places quantity of life over quality of life. In a world that is already many times overpopulated, this is not acceptable policy.

Specifics
The list of proscribed actions includes:
 * abortion
 * euthanasia
 * suicide

Related

 * People who express a "pro-life" point of view generally:
 * tend to be against gun control and sex education.
 * sometimes (but not always) favor capital punishment, despite the obvious contradiction
 * tend to favor red American political positions, despite the harm those positions tend to cause
 * Quiverfull "is a movement among conservative evangelical Protestant Christian couples chiefly in the United States, but with some adherents in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, England, and elsewhere. Its viewpoint is to eagerly receive children as blessings from God, eschewing all forms of birth control, including natural family planning and sterilization." -- sort of the ultimate pro-life position: quantity at any cost.

Bumper Stickers

 * "God is pro-life" (seen 2008-10-29 in Durham, NC)
 * If this is true, then why does God allow people to die? Why does God allow the death penalty? (Shouldn't a society which allows the death penalty be subjected to the same kind of divine punishment as one which "tolerates Sodomy"?) Why does God allow wars? I call bullshit. -

News & Views

 * 2007-10-20 Where Is The Catholic Right's Outrage Over the S-CHIP Veto? by Frank Cocozzelli: "...judging by their deafening silence over President Bush's veto of legislation that would extend State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP) coverage to lower-middle class children, their zeal to protect life apparently ends at birth."