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I'm wondering what would happen if you took surveys that asked questions about specific cases: "should a woman have the legal right to an abortion if she doesn'

by sethg 17y ago

I'm wondering what would happen if you took surveys that asked questions about specific cases: "should a woman have the legal right to an abortion if she doesn't think she can afford to raise the child? ...if she doesn't feel psychologically ready to have children? ...if the child may be disabled? ...if she intended to use birth control but the birth control accidentally failed? ...if she intended to use birth control but forgot? ...if she was raped?" I suspect that people's answers to these questions will be pretty consistent from year to year, and what's really changing is the salience of the different cases; all other factors being equal, if you hear a lot about women having what you consider inappropriate abortions, then you will be more likely to label yourself "pro-life", but if you hear a lot about women being prevented from having what you consider appropriate abortions, then you will be more likely to label yourself "pro-choice".

jimbokun 17y ago
'if you hear a lot about women having what you consider inappropriate abortions, then you will be more likely to label yourself "pro-life", but if you hear a lot about women being prevented from having what you consider appropriate abortions, then you will be more likely to label yourself "pro-choice".' Logically, then, people must be hearing about more women having "inappropriate" abortions than "appropriate" abortions?
- sethg 17y ago
  Dunno. Or maybe Obama is so strongly associated with being pro-choice that a bunch of moderates are calling themselves "pro-life" in reaction.
byrneseyeview 17y ago
.if she intended to use birth control but the birth control accidentally failed? ...if she intended to use birth control but forgot? In general, it seems like people on the pro-life side are more likely to draw a strict boundary, whereas people on the pro-choice side are more likely to compromise. e.g. I can imagine someone saying "I'm in favor of a woman's right to choose -- but not if her choice means harming a fetus that can experience pain." I can't imagine a pro-lifer saying "Abortion means murdering a helpless infant. So before you do it, you better be damn sure you intended to check the expiration date on those condoms, but, like, totally forgot."
- randallsquared 17y ago
  You would think this. Bizarrely, though, most pro-life people do not act as though they believe abortion is murder, and when some do, the others get uncomfortable looks.
  - redrobot5050 17y ago
    The majority of the pro-life movement's rhetoric, while clouded in religious dogma about how wonderful life is, and when it starts, is really about punishing women for having sex. They feel, or at least agree with, the notion that women should bear the consequences of an unintended pregnancy as punishment for their implied promiscuity.
    - DanielBMarkham 17y ago
      I'm adopted. My opposition to abortion is much more practical and self-serving in nature than punishment-based. If my mom had chosen abortion (which, given her circumstances, would have been likely) I wouldn't be around today. I think you do a disservice when you paint the other side of a debate with a broad brush. It's easy to assign some simple rationale to your opponent and then make fun of them. It's called a straw man argument. Life is more complicated than that. (By the way, I'm pro-choice. I just vehemently think abortion is immoral murder which a woman should have a right to do if she wants)
      - jibiki 17y ago
        The problem is that the most vocal opponents of abortion frequently favor causes like abstinence-only-education. Of course, the average pro-lifer cares much more about abortion than abstinence education, but the ones we hear on the radio seem to care equally.
      - redrobot5050 17y ago
        >(By the way, I'm pro-choice. I just vehemently think abortion is immoral murder which a woman should have a right to do if she wants) I'm quoting you because I'm with you, in the sense that I would prefer to avoid abortion, would like to reduce the number of abortions in this country, but believe its entirely a woman's right to choose, and it should not be stigmatized or deamonized as it is in this country. Also, please check out this link, where its much better argued then it could be by my, that pro-life policies make more sense at punishing women for sex, than they do at actually reducing the abortion rate: http://www.amptoons.com/blog/archives/2006/03/21/why-its-difficult-to-believe-that-anti-choicers-mean-what-they-say/ http://www.amptoons.com/blog/archives/2006/03/21/why-its-dif...

by sethg 17y ago

jimbokun 17y ago

'if you hear a lot about women having what you consider inappropriate abortions, then you will be more likely to label yourself "pro-life", but if you hear a lot about women being prevented from having what you consider appropriate abortions, then you will be more likely to label yourself "pro-choice".' Logically, then, people must be hearing about more women having "inappropriate" abortions than "appropriate" abortions?

sethg 17y ago
Dunno. Or maybe Obama is so strongly associated with being pro-choice that a bunch of moderates are calling themselves "pro-life" in reaction.

byrneseyeview 17y ago

.if she intended to use birth control but the birth control accidentally failed? ...if she intended to use birth control but forgot? In general, it seems like people on the pro-life side are more likely to draw a strict boundary, whereas people on the pro-choice side are more likely to compromise. e.g. I can imagine someone saying "I'm in favor of a woman's right to choose -- but not if her choice means harming a fetus that can experience pain." I can't imagine a pro-lifer saying "Abortion means murdering a helpless infant. So before you do it, you better be damn sure you intended to check the expiration date on those condoms, but, like, totally forgot."

randallsquared 17y ago
You would think this. Bizarrely, though, most pro-life people do not act as though they believe abortion is murder, and when some do, the others get uncomfortable looks.
- redrobot5050 17y ago
  The majority of the pro-life movement's rhetoric, while clouded in religious dogma about how wonderful life is, and when it starts, is really about punishing women for having sex. They feel, or at least agree with, the notion that women should bear the consequences of an unintended pregnancy as punishment for their implied promiscuity.
  - DanielBMarkham 17y ago
    I'm adopted. My opposition to abortion is much more practical and self-serving in nature than punishment-based. If my mom had chosen abortion (which, given her circumstances, would have been likely) I wouldn't be around today. I think you do a disservice when you paint the other side of a debate with a broad brush. It's easy to assign some simple rationale to your opponent and then make fun of them. It's called a straw man argument. Life is more complicated than that. (By the way, I'm pro-choice. I just vehemently think abortion is immoral murder which a woman should have a right to do if she wants)
    - jibiki 17y ago
      The problem is that the most vocal opponents of abortion frequently favor causes like abstinence-only-education. Of course, the average pro-lifer cares much more about abortion than abstinence education, but the ones we hear on the radio seem to care equally.
    - redrobot5050 17y ago
      >(By the way, I'm pro-choice. I just vehemently think abortion is immoral murder which a woman should have a right to do if she wants) I'm quoting you because I'm with you, in the sense that I would prefer to avoid abortion, would like to reduce the number of abortions in this country, but believe its entirely a woman's right to choose, and it should not be stigmatized or deamonized as it is in this country. Also, please check out this link, where its much better argued then it could be by my, that pro-life policies make more sense at punishing women for sex, than they do at actually reducing the abortion rate: http://www.amptoons.com/blog/archives/2006/03/21/why-its-difficult-to-believe-that-anti-choicers-mean-what-they-say/ http://www.amptoons.com/blog/archives/2006/03/21/why-its-dif...