Very short and to the point, it should be called what it is. Here, in social media, in conversation. It’s not a heartwarming protection of life, it’s condemning the parents (though more often, the mother) and child to a life of obstacles, with hurt and pain. A punishment for the crime of unwanted pregnancy.
It’s a demand that a woman, deemed by legislators too stupid to make her own decision, must be forced to bear and care for a child that she didn’t desire to bear (and whether due to drugs, rape or other factors is not relevant here). And that doctors must not use medicine and science, but recite lies written by politicians who know and care nothing for health or science. Politicians who, in the pretense of caring for women, do all they can to cut off medical care for those women and the unborn children. Then, after demanding the child be born, decree that no funds must be spent to feed or care for those “precious lives”.
For the child to find that his or her birth wasn’t because the parents wanted to, but because a law ordered the birth. And the child will find out, guaranteed. Could the child detect a sense of resentment? Maybe even see how he or she is treated, by parents, relatives, other children? The looks, the whispers. Mom always working, yet standing in line with her at the food bank for some groceries, clothes from donations and Goodwill. Won’t that make for a happy childhood: parents seeing their life dreams crushed, suddenly having to care for a child by themselves, with limited resources and medical care, cut off by lawmakers and pundits who call them “welfare queens” while piously declaring the birth must happen to defend “Life”. And for those who say for the parents that actions have consequences, what did the child do to warrant his or her consequences?
Yet some succeed, despite all the efforts of the pious who ‘protect’ the unborn, but despise them once they’re born. Some of these parents and children make it. Some children are adopted (we adopted two), some families rally around them, some churches lift them up, some legislators work to help after birth, some actually try to get out of the way and leave the choice to the doctor and patient. But not enough.
It’s time to change the language, both here and in the rest of the world. It’s time to drop the words that comfort those with their feelings of moral superiority that think they are doing God’s Work. The words need to point back at them what they are compelling be done. That they force a lifelong consequence and then, at birth, they smugly walk away, washing their hands of what they have done, feeling oh so noble, or lining up votes for reelection.
It’s not being “Pro Life”.
It’s not being “Anti-Abortion”.
It’s being “Forced Birth”.
Call it what it is.