Can we please stop using the term "pro-life" to describe Anti-Choice positions?

[Dark Window]

There's two positions on this subject, people who are Pro-Choice or Anti-Choice.

These are the terms that should be used as they accurately sum up what each sides position is. They are literally true.

If you use the term "pro-life" to describe anti-choice individuals, you are just aiding in their ability to sugar coat their position and make it look like they're the good guys.

Implying they are "pro-life" is like implying we are "anti-life" because we're the opposite of what the "pro-life" position is.

The opposite to pro-choice is anti-choice. It's as simple as that.

All you people who call them "pro-lifers" are just aiding their attempts to mask what they really are, you are helping them. If we call them pro-lifers and criticize and attack them, it just makes us look like we're anti-life, which I assume you wouldn't want us to be known for.

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Today I made a comment stating "Don't CTB unless you are 100% sure you want to go through with it" and also encouraging a poster to consider all their options for support before deciding they are going to CTB, which I think is perfectly reasonable. It supports someone's right to die, but also shows compassion and a desire to see them resolve their suffering, in a way that doesn't imply they have to kill themselves to do that....

.....and I got someone responding back saying "that sounds very pro-life". *facepalm*

We CANNOT afford to look like we're against life or anti-life in someway. We're not ANTI-LIFE, we're PRO-CHOICE.

I think it's perfectly fair to say that a considerable amount of you on this forum want to kill yourselves because you're suffering with a painful life and/or an unsatisfying one, and it's also fair to say that if you were to get better and live and more satisfying life, you probably wouldn't want to kill yourself. That is not a guarantee, some of you may simply have a well thought out position which makes you appreciate the idea of non-existence, but studies have shown most people who attempt suicide and fail their attempt at some point are grateful they didn't succeed.

The above statement is not "pro-life" shenanigans, it's just the truth. Maybe some of you just cannot find a positive way to look at life, but it's likely just because of the suffering you are going through. I understand.

I am not anti-choice, I'm pro-choice, but I think people really should be certain they want to go through with it if they are going to try it, and if I detect that a persons problems are fixable, then I'm going to advise them accordingly. I don't think it's "pro-lifer shenanigans" to help someone get better. It's not about trying to get people to kill themselves.

Many of us on here have supported people on this forum through difficult times, and that likely has reduced their chances of CTB. Is this because we're "pro-life"/anti-choice? No, it's because we're not a bunch of fucking sociopaths that are trying to get people to kill themselves. We simply support people's right's to do it if they wish.

Most people on here are decent enough people who would wish nothing but positives for others. I don't think this should be a place where we wish people would just kill themselves. We wish for them to have the free to make their own decision, and if that decision is CTB then that's their choice, but that being said, I don't see it as bad thing to encourage people to get help if they haven't already sought it out.

TL;DR - Please refer to "pro-lifers" now as "Anti-choice", because that is a far more accurate description of what they are. The label needs to be closer to reality, so it accurately describes the position of the user of that label. "Pro-life" in no way represents what "Anti-Choice" people are. It doesn't offer an accurate first impression, as it doesn't immediately give an understanding that the "pro-lifer" is actually just against someone's right to die.

Pro-Choice vs Anti-Choice is a far more accurate way to label the opposing views, not Pro-choice vs Pro-Life, as that would imply pro-choicer's are anti-life, as anti-life would be the natural opposite to pro-life. But anti-choice is the natural opposite to pro-choice. I know it's hard to summarize an entire position in 2 words, but it needs to be as revealing as possible.

I'm getting sick of the term "pro-life" being used so often on this board.

 

[Cakeisalie]

We can try, in the end the media will draw the line and manipulate the real meaning of the word.

 

[Proteus]

I agree. It just looks like trying to gain more enemies from all sides. Conventional "pro-life" people is supposed to mean something different.

 

[SilentSadness]

It's just language, people know what they mean when they say pro life.

Today I made a comment stating "Don't CTB unless you are 100% sure you want to go through with it" and also encouraging a poster to consider all their options for support before deciding they are going to CTB, which I think is perfectly reasonable. It supports someone's right to die, but also shows compassion and a desire to see them resolve their suffering, in a way that doesn't imply they have to kill themselves to do that....

I don't know the context, but this can be a bit insulting, like it implies the person has no idea what the consequences of suicide are.

 

[Dark Window]

It's just language, people know what they mean when they say pro life.

I don't know the context, but this can be a bit insulting, like it implies the person has no idea what the consequences of suicide are.

The only person who'd feel this way is someone who is too sensitive. It's not meant to be a personal attack, it's compassionate for gods sake.

Anyone who takes that personally needs to learn how not to take everything personally.

 

[FuneralCry]

Honestly I don't get why you assume that people even want your "help" when it was never even asked for in the first place, people come to the suicide discussion section to escape from patronising people and their unsolicited "advice". Other people's decisions aren't really yours to make, many come to the suicide discussion as a place to vent not to have strangers who know nothing about what they are going through telling them what to do. This is suicide discussion not suicide prevention discussion after all, sorry but forcing "help" onto people and insisting they are mentally ill simply for wanting death is not pro-choice.

 

[Alexei_Kirillov]

I generally agree with your post, but I think "pro-life" can sometimes be a useful term to describe someone who sees life as the ultimate good and who supports its continuation regardless of circumstance. IMO the term implies something more than just being against your right to die (a negative position), it also implies a philosophy about the inherent value and goodness of life (a positive position). It then makes sense why you receive pushback on your comments, because the assumption underlying them is that a good life is worth striving for. Many of us simply disagree with that position.

 

[Malaria]

I generally agree with your post, but I think "pro-life" can sometimes be a useful term to describe someone who sees life as the ultimate good and who supports its continuation regardless of circumstance. IMO the term implies something more than just being against your right to die (a negative position), it also implies a philosophy about the inherent value and goodness of life (a positive position). It then makes sense why you receive pushback on your comments, because the assumption underlying them is that a good life is worth striving for. Many of us simply disagree with that position.

This is pretty much how I feel. It's kinda like the abortion argument. In fact, I'm pretty sure this debate takes a lot of cues from the abortion debate.

Of course, "pro-life" can be used as a buzzword to dismiss any and all valid criticisms or opinions, but that's true for any terminology I think.

 

[ijustwishtodie]

It feels like a fallacy to insinuate that, just because we don't follow the pro life belief, we automatically have the opposite belief to that but perhaps I'm wrong. There's an entire spectrum between pro life and anti life and, for the record, those people are pro life as they want to continue life at all costs regardless of what we say. They even go as far as to involuntary place people in a mental hospital if they express their desires to kill themselves

 

[Tesha]

Er… nope… I'm comfortable using whatever wording I chose - as long as it's not a personal attack and the intent of it is widely understood. No amount of self censoring will prevent media outlets and the like from twisting our words to fit their own agenda.

 

[Ash]

I've got bigger problems than worrying about the semantics of pro life vs anti choice.

 

[rozeske]

This whole thread is just a *facepalm*
And what's up with all the 'you people' any ways?!

 

[Sprite_Geist]

I agree. I think that there is definitely a lack of nuanced thinking both in this community, but also with people in general too; there is too much thinking in terms of "black and white". If a user feels even an ounce of happiness then their thinking is labelled as "pro-life" by those who hate human life - this is not always true - and contrariwise if a user does not agree with the belief that human life is inherently good or precious then their thinking is mockingly labelled as "nihilistic" or miserable by those who think that life is worth living - this is not always true as well. This is not to say that there is anything wrong with holding a hardline view that life is either completely good or negative either.

I think that your post does not only apply to what happens in this forum, but it highlights another problem of people only hearing small amounts of what other people believe, and then making huge assumptions about them based on what little that they have heard... this is when the throwing around of labels come into play, and leads to labels being overused to the point that they have no meaning anymore.

 

[yeh it's all gucci]

There's an entire spectrum between pro life and anti life

Basically this. We aren't their opposites anyway.

Pro is a Latin word meaning for, and they are for life so what's the harm in using it.
If you want to get technical then the opposite of pro-life would be con-life.

One of the reasons I hate the world so much now is all the people trying to dictate what we should be calling things, and people getting upset and offended by everything.
This feels like the same bullshit type argument that I'm supposed to call my mum a "birthing person" or I'm supposed to refer to a singular person as "they."

Yeh, no ty, I will use the English language as I please.