PRO-CHOICE SUPPORTERS

Pro-Choice Supporters and Their Stereotypes

Brooklyn Evans
University of Kentucky

Author Note

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Abstract

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Pro-Choice Supporters and Their Stereotypes

Pro-choice supporters have only one goal, to defend a womens right to make her
own choice with her body. Abortion has always been a controversial topic and can lead
into a heated debate between pro-choice and pro-life supporters. Pro-choice supporters
are stereotyped in many ways through media and those who disagree with pro-choice
beliefs.
The term pro-choice started appearing in the early 1970s during the famous Roe
vs. Wade trial. This case brought much controversy to the subject of abortion and this is
when Americans started taking sides on the issue, classifying themselves as pro-choice or
pro-life. Today, about 40% of Americans define themselves as pro-choice. This is the
lowest it has ever been in American history and this number continues to gradually
decrease.
Pro-choice is advocating for a womans right to choose what she wants to do with
her body. One thing pro-choice supporters defend the most is a womans right to have an
abortion. Abortion is the process of terminating a pregnancy by destroying the embryo.
Supporters believe no one should have the right to tell a woman that it is her
responsibility to have a baby, that this should be a choice with the woman and her doctor.
As said by an employee at Planned Parenthood, I dont think anyone else should be in
control of one persons decision or at least in that aspect. Many arguments from pro-

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choice supporters are it is a womans body therefore it is the womans right to decide if
she wants to carry a child or not.
There are always extremists in every belief and there will always be
disagreements inside of the same belief. Not all pro-choice supporters believe the same
thing. Some may believe abortion should always be legal, some believe abortion should
only be legal in certain situations, while others, like the employee I interviewed at
Planned Parenthood, believe after a certain time in a womans trimester abortion should
no longer be an option, which is the current law. Other pro-choice supporters disagree
with the current law and believe abortion should always be an option in a womans
pregnancy. Not all advocates have the exact same belief, but all have relatively the same
goal in mind.
Pro-Choice supporters are commonly asked, When do you think human life
begins? Most people believe pro-choice advocates would answer, When the baby is
born but that is simply untrue. Although they do not believe human life begins at
conception, like pro-life advocates, most pro-choice advocates believe there is a point in
a womans pregnancy when the baby is considered a human and abortion should then not
be an option.
For one of my interviews, I went to Planned Parenthood to interview one of their
employees. Planned Parenthood is a health clinic with its main focus on pregnancy
prevention. When I first walked into Planned Parenthood the workers were very open and
friendly, then I explained to them what my purpose of being there was and they were
suddenly not as friendly. I assumed that most of the people who walk into Planned
Parenthood not for a consult or appointment are usually protesters who do not agree with

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abortion. I then explained I was only there to ask some questions about their beliefs and
my views and beliefs would be kept out of the interview.
Only at certain point in a womans pregnancy do pro-choice supporters believe
abortion should no longer be an option. When I interviewed the employee at Planned
Parenthood, I asked, Do you believe abortion is murder? she replied that only after a
certain point in a womans trimester does she consider it to be murder. She believes that
when the heart and lungs are fully formed, the baby is considered a human. When the
baby is able to survive outside of the mothers womb, she believes it is then murder. She
also explained to me that there are laws limiting the time you can have an abortion, you
must abort the baby before the second trimester, after that an abortion is illegal. So, in her
beliefs, if a woman has an abortion in a legally mandated time she does not consider it to
be murder.
Pro-choice advocates are often stereotyped as
Many believe that if you are pro-choice you cannot be Christian. Most people
assume pro-choice supporters are atheists, but this is found to be untrue. Arguments
include You cant be a Christian and a baby murderer or God doesnt kill babies.
Pro-Choice advocates rebut those statements by saying things like abortion is not
discussed in the Bible. In the article You Can Be Pro-Choice Politically and Pro-Life in
Your Community Tune says, Pro-choice Christians understand that a relationship with
God is based on accepting Gods love for us; it cannot be forced on people nor can they
be manipulated into it. (Tune 2013) Pro-Choice Christians believe it is a womans right
to choose.

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They are also perceived as morally corrupt people, this is a stereotype put on prochoice supporters by those who do not believe in abortion. Non pro-choice supporters see
abortion as unmoral and murder of an innocent human being. While pro-choice advocates
believe not allowing a woman to make the choice of having a child or not is the real
unmoral action.
Pro-choice may support a womens right to have an abortion but that doesnt
mean they themselves would have an abortion if they had unplanned pregnancies. They
believe women should have the right to choose what they do with their bodies without the
government or anyone else telling them what they can or cannot do. Media plays a big
role in what people believe pro-choice supporters support. The only thing you hear in the
media about pro-choice supporters is protesting for legal abortions.
Pro-choice is commonly associated with supporting the right to have an
abortion. But there is more to the definition of pro-choice than just abortion rights. Prochoice supports birth control, contraceptives, and sex education for teens. They believe it
is important for people, mainly woman, to have prevention and educational resources
available to them. They believe it is important for young woman to know their options
when it comes to sex. Pro-choice supporters push and advocate for sex education to be
mandatory for all high schools. They also push for contraceptives and birth control to be
available to young adults. Major belief is if these resources were available to everyone,
the unwanted pregnancies and abortion rate would decrease.

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