Language Matters
pro-choice
"favoring a right to abortion," 1975, from pro- + choice
pro-life
"opposed to abortion," first attested 1976, from pro- + life. Hostile alternative anti-choice attested 1978 in Ms. magazine (see pro-choice).
"What hypocrisy to call such anti-humanitarian people 'pro-life.' Call them what they are -- antichoice." "Ms.," Oct. 8, 1978
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Violence Historically Associated With "Pro Life" Label
http://womenshistory.about.com/od/abortionuslegal/a/abortion.htm"Pro-life" and "pro-choice" evolved as the most common self-chosen names of the two movements, one to outlaw most abortion and the other to eliminate most legislative restrictions on abortions.
Opposition to abortions has increasingly turned physical and even violent -- first in the organized blocking of access to clinics which provided abortion services, organized primarily by Operation Rescue, founded in 1984 and led by Randall Terry. On Christmas Day, 1984, three abortion clinics were bombed, and those convicted called the bombings "a birthday gift for Jesus."
Within the churches and other group opposing abortion, the issue of clinic protests has become increasingly controversial, as many who oppose abortions move to separate themselves from those who propose violence as an acceptable solution.
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Domestic Terror Sleeper Cell's Set In Motion
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/06/01-1During Clinton Administrations:
Women's Health Clinic Bombings/Arsons: 12
Women's Health Clinic Attempted Murders: 17
Women's Health Clinic Murders: 6
During Bush Administrations:
Women's Health Clinic Bombings/Arsons: 1
Women's Health Clinic Attempted Murders: 0
Women's Health Clinic Murders: 0
Harassing Call's to Women's Health Clinics, last year: 396
During Obama Administration:
Women's Health Clinic Bombings/Arsons: 0
Women's Health Clinic Murders: 1
Harassing Call's to Women's Health Clinics, first four months: 1401
And so the execution of Tiller, 67, is not only tragic but ominous. He was born into an era when being an abortion provider meant saving women's lives. And the cold-blooded murder in church and in front of his wife of this stalwart defender of women rights and beloved physician, comes as a message for others, as well as tragic deja vu.
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Pro Life Zealots are Domestic Terrorists
http://www.now.org/press/06-09/06-01.html NOW Identifies Murder of Dr. George Tiller As Domestic Terrorism, Calls for Action from Justice Department and Homeland Security
Women across the country have lost a champion today. The cold-blooded murder of Dr. George Tiller this morning in church is a stark reminder that women's bodies are still a battleground, and health care professionals are on the frontlines.
Bringing the killers to justice is not enough - the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security must root out and prosecute as domestic terrorists and violent racketeers the criminal enterprise that has organized and funded criminal acts for decades. We call on the new attorney general Eric Holder and head of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to treat these murders in the same way they would treat politically-motivated domestic terrorism of any other kind and put the full resources of their two departments behind that effort.
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"Partial Birth Abortion" Does Not Exist As A Medical Term Or Procedure
http://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/interviews/steinem.htmQ: What do you think of Clinton's veto of the bill that would have penalized doctors who perform "partial birth" abortions? Do you have any qualms about this barbaric practice?
A: First of all, it isn't a "partial birth" abortion. As the 35,000 members of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists wrote in a letter to Dole last year, when he was still majority leader of the Senate, "in defining what medical procedures doctors may or may not perform, HR1833
employs terminology that is not even recognized in the medical community--demonstrating why Congressional opinion should never be substituted for professional medical judgment... The College finds very disturbing that Congress would take any action that would supersede the medical judgment of trained physicians and criminalize medical procedures that may be necessary to save the life of the woman."
Second, there are about 600 of these a year, and they are performed only when there is a risk to the woman's life or health and/or a severe fetal anomaly that would not allow the fetus to function or survive. If this procedure were needed by someone in the families of those who voted to ban it, I suspect that everyone of them--including Dole--would want it to be available. If it were illegal, they could fly to other countries to have this procedure--as the average patient could not.
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