Taking the Pro-life message a step too far

I've been critical of abortion and I think everyone should be. However, I'd like to take this time to criticize the pro-life movement (both here and abroad). For truth to prevail, lies on both sides of any issue have to be purged and this is what I aim to do here.

First of all, contraception is NOT ABORTION - not even close. If pro-lifers want to make the case that life begins at conception, then before conception, there would be no life and as such there is no life to abort (aka, NOT ABORTION). I will concede, however, that there are contraceptives that have an abortifacient secondary action to them. This means it will either prevent the fertilized egg from implanting or aim to kill it altogether. This should still be opposed. However, condoms do not fall into this category. As such, condoms are not murder. They're simply a contraceptive.

Secondly, don't count the unborn as part of the census. For legal reasons, they should count towards the census on the day they're born. This is completely in keeping with the pro-life stance as not even born babies are given all the rights of citizens of a state. My nephews, for example, aren't allowed to vote. The unborn, however, should be afforded all human rights (right to life, due process, etc.) but having he unborn registered seems very counter intuitive.

Next, pictures of aborted babies do not work. Live action has some animated videos which work much better. The bloody images can be effective but mostly, it can be construed to imply that the women who have had abortions are murderers. Let's stop the name calling and realize that no woman wants to have an abortion. It's a scary time for the woman and women (even those seeking abortion) should always be shown compassion and support.

Next, burning down abortion facilities or threatening abortionist's lives is an act of terrorism. The pro-life movement should be pro-ALL LIFE, even abortionist's lives. I personally, haven't seen many instances of these cases (The movie, Unplanned mentioned one) but it should be called out for what it is and that is an act of terrorism.

When pro-choice advocates tell us not to use religion, we'd better listen to them. The pro-life message is one where you simply do not need Bible verses to support it. Priests will often cite these in their homilies but I'd excuse them since they're preaching in a religious setting. When politicians do it, however, they sound like pastors and shouldn't be using religious reasons for being pro-life. My ears bleed when some politicians are asked this and they reply with, "It's in the Bible!" or "I can't support abortion as a (insert religious group here)".

Lastly, remember that there are two individuals in an abortion - mother and child - and care is needed for BOTH. A common trap for pro-lifers is to put the baby's rights above that of the mother. The true pro-life stand puts them on equal grounds. We shouldn't fall into the trap of pitting the child against her mother and vice versa. Remember both individuals always and you should be fine.

I'm sure there are more cases where pro-lifers will spread misinformation around and I'd want to be fair to all sides of the debate and call out what needs to be called out. This, I think, will make for healthier conversations on the topic of abortion.