Whose Choice is 'Pro-choice'?

by Chuck Colson

When someone labels his position “pro-choice,” whose choices does he mean?

An article entitled “Who’s Making the Choice?” in the Post Abortion Review states, “Hundreds of thousands of women undergo unwanted abortions every year to please someone else or because of pressure or coercion by their sexual partners, parents, social workers, counselors, employers, or school administrators.” A boyfriend or parent threatens to throw her into the streets unless she follows his or her wishes. A Boss gives an employment ultimatum, Social or school stigma interferes with the “choice” the girl would otherwise make. According to a survey of 252 post-abortive women, more than half said they felt “forced” into the abortion by others.

In one survey 70 percent of women “choosing an abortion” say they believe abortion is immoral. They violated their own consciences because of pressure from people or circumstances. More than 80 percent of women who report post-abortion problems say they would have carried their child to term if they had more support from friends and family.

Crisis counselors know people under pressure lose confidence in their own judgment and rely heavily on others. A desire to re-establish stability makes individuals more vulnerable, more susceptible to influence from others who claim to be able to solve the crisis, especially those who appear to have status or authority.

One woman recalls, “My family would not support my decision to keep my baby. My boyfriend said he would give me no emotional or financial help whatsoever. [Everyone] that mattered told me to abort. When I said I didn’t want to, they starting listing reasons why I should…I started feeling like maybe I was crazy to want to keep it…

“I finally told everyone I would have an abortion just to get them off my back … I was scared to not do it because of how my family and boyfriend felt. I’m so angry at myself for giving into the pressure of others.” That young woman tragically attempted suicide shortly afterwards.

Ambivalence paralyzes the will. The heart says not to abort – others say they have to. One woman said, “I didn’t want to kill my child: I just made the decision … not to make a conscious choice at all. In fact, Planned Parenthood … tell[s] you that you have no choice but to get an abortion – the irony of the ‘pro-choice’ rhetoric.”

The article “Who’s Making the Choice?” concludes that many, perhaps most, women who have abortions feel pressured into choosing abortion against their conscience[s] … [A]bortion clinics generally make no attempt [to] help women resist the pressures they face to undergo unwanted abortions.” More than 80 percent of women with post-abortion problems report that their abortion-clinic counselors showed no interest in helping to explore other options.

“Abortion counseling is usually designed to “sell” the woman on abortion, and certainly not to help her escape the pressure of others who may be pushing her into an unwanted abortion.”

In practical fact, “pro-choice” means abortion salespeople making the choice! Remember that, and remember these chilling statistics the next time you hear a feminist group defending a woman’s so-called “right to choose.”

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