To define ourselves as pro-life in its simplest terms means recognizing that each and every innocent human life has inherent dignity, and that that human life unequivocally deserves proper respect in all its forms.
It means that grandpa in the nursing home, the mother and her unborn child are valuable, and that each ought to merit the right to life that is afforded to us in our Declaration of Independence.
It means that we, like the majority of educated scientific opinions today, agree that life does, in fact, begin at the moment of fertilization. And by the moment of fertilization, we understand it to mean the first step in the process known as the point of activation where a unique individual is irreversibly created. At this point all of the necessary components required for that child are present and just like in you and I in any other stage of our development, the child simply needs time to mature.
It means that we recognize that women deserve to be protected-most especially in the direst of circumstances. Instead of respecting women when they find themselves in less-than-ideal circumstances during a pregnancy, society pushes them into a finite decision.
The anti-life industry is a well-run business. Unlike any other major medical procedure, women are not afforded the opportunity to build any doctor-patient relationship, women are not fully informed about what is going to happen to her body and the child's within her, nor what the scientifically-proven, likely consequences of following through with said procedure will be. Rather than educating these women, the anti-life industry denies this critical information in the hopes of maximizing their bottom line.
To deny women the education they deserve prior to undergoing arguably one of the most invasive and definitely the most common surgical procedure among women today, is to disrespect them in the gravest way.
To be pro-life is to recognize that pitting mother against child through such back-handed means debases women to second-class citizens. To see the strides America has made towards equality, only to see it take a leap back in such a way is sickening, most especially speaking as a woman myself.
In summation, by designating ourselves as pro-life means we recognize that the killing of an innocent human life cannot, and should never be, the answer to hardship. It means we are not ignorant to the abundance of positive alternatives. It does not mean we are ignorant to troubled situations, but rather that we look past the quickest and most indecent solutions to find what is just.
Anti-life "choices" are the only ones that eliminate all choice for a unique and innocent human life. "Choice" is the only way to ensure that true equality can never be present in our country. "Choice" is a contradiction in the most serious manner of our nation's most fundamental principles. This is why the Grand Old Party must stand for life.
Kelly Flak member Miami University College Republicans flakka@muohio.edu
