For some time now, I’ve been referring to Democrats who support abortion rights as “pro-abortion” instead of “pro-choice.”
I think “pro-abortion” is a far more accurate term, and thus I will continue to refer to them that way.
Of course, the radical left doesn’t like this label. Not because they aren’t steadfast supporters of abortion, but because of the marketing aspect. It’s much easier for them to frame abortion in ways that obfuscate that whole part where it kills an unborn child. So, they rebrand abortion as “choice” and frame the debate as a women’s rights issue, as if the right to kill a baby is no different from civil rights and other equality issues.
In the United States, the pro-abortion left opposes ultrasound requirements for women seeking abortions because polls have shown the requirements have helped women choose not to terminate the pregnancy. Of course, if the left were really “pro-choice,” they’d have no problem with women having the opportunity to change their minds.
But let’s face it: if there was a time that the radical left could claim to be “pro-choice,” those days are long gone.
There once was a time when the left wasn’t so extreme on abortion — heck, it wasn’t even all that long ago. I can still remember when President Bill Clinton claimed he felt, despite his alleged personal dislike of abortion, that he wanted abortions to be “safe, legal and rare.”
“Safe, legal, and rare” was once the mantra of pro-choice Democrats. It was a relatively moderate position that could effectively unite the various factions in the debate.
It’s almost hard to believe that, even while running for president in 2008, Hillary Clinton said she still believed in her husband’s mantra. “And by rare, I mean rare,” she emphasized.
That’s all changed now. Eight years later, the formula had been altered. “I’ve been on record for many years about where I stand on abortion, how it should be safe and legal, and I have the same position that I’ve had for a very long time,” Hillary said.
What? Where did the “rare” go?
Just ask Planned Parenthood. Abortion is their business. Abortions being “rare” cuts into their profits, and thus, reduces how much money they can spend on funding the campaigns of pro-abortion Democrats. “Rare” isn’t sustainable for a business built on killing babies.
The pro-life and pro-abortion movements may never agree that abortion should be legal, but most people believe that it should be rare — except for the Democrats, whom the abortion lobby has bought. Because of it, Democrats have embraced unrestricted access to abortion at any point up to birth. Their positions are so radical that they’re too extreme even for progressive Europe.
Today, it’s not enough for the radical left for abortion to be legal in most cases. To them, abortion must be destigmatized and celebrated. Pro-abortion activists even brag about their abortions like it’s a medal they earned.
This radicalism is why a law in Mississippi that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy was challenged and why the Supreme Court appears to be on the verge of overturning Roe v. Wade.
Related: The GOP’s Post-Roe Messaging Strategy on Abortion
If Roe v. Wade is ultimately overturned, the pro-abortion left will have to live with the knowledge that their opposition to a law reflecting mainstream views on abortion in the United States is what ultimately took Roe down.
That’s why they can’t be called “pro-choice.” For the pro-abortion left, it’s not been about choice for a long time. It’s about the money.
So stop calling them “pro-choice.” They are pro-abortion — in every sense of the term.
