The Mycenaean

The pro-life vs. pro-choice debate revolves around the idea of whether abortions should be legal or not. Although abortions are currently legal, there is the potential for change in the future. (Photo from Public Domain)

In the upcoming election and after Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation, the debate on abortion has become prominent in the media once more. 

President Donald Trump selected Barrett to fill the seat mainly because it almost guarantees the overturning of Roe V. Wade — the case that allowed women to have an abortion legally. 

This has sparked a social media debate among many people in the United States on if a baby should ever be aborted. The ideas of contraception availability, free birth control, and sex education also come into play within these arguments. 

The two opposing sides of the controversy are pro-life and pro-choice. Being pro-life means that you are against abortion; you believe that the embryo and fetus is a human being and that all fetuses have a right to live. Being pro-choice means that you support the availability of a legal abortion and leave that decision up to the woman bearing the fetus.

For Wake County students, the debate has been especially prominent. Students have taken to their Instagram and Snapchat accounts to share their beliefs. These posts, pro-life and pro-choice, led to multiple arguments in comment sections and direct messages. Students tried to persuade one another and provided their opinions in a non-civil way; fights and mean comments broke out. 

According to a poll of Leesville students, about 10% of students are pro-life while 90% are pro-choice. 

 

Pro-Life

 

Kharis Greear, a senior at Leesville, is pro-life. “Science has proved that life does indeed begin at conception, which makes it murder, and everyone should agree that murder is wrong,” said Greear via text. Greear holds the life of a fetus to a level of utmost importance but isn’t opposed to choice in certain circumstances. “If it is an extreme or dangerous case, I support the idea that the mother can have the right to choose,” said Greear.

Collin Sharp, a senior at Leesville, is also pro-life. “I believe that all children are God’s gift because the Bible says that God knows us even in the womb, and He has a plan for us,” Sharp said via text. “Abortions take away that gift, and I think it’s silly to do so just because it’s going to be hard; raising a kid is never going to be easy.”

When he is not looking at abortion from a religious viewpoint, Sharp also supports the idea of choice in extreme conditions. “I think that abortions should not be a primary option for birth control. I think that abortions should be used if the woman was, unfortunately, raped but I think abortions should not be used when the child is simply inconvenient,” said Sharp.

Greear and Sharp believe that the mother should prioritize the life of the fetus over the circumstances that may not be ideal, except for dangerous situations where an abortion is necessary or ideal due to pregnancy or conception issues. This would mean legal and safe abortions should still be available.

 

Pro-Choice

 

Elliot Worth, a sophomore at Leesville, is pro-choice. “I don’t think [abortion is] necessarily a good thing, but I think it’s important for women to have the option to get one if they need one,” Worth said via text. 

Worth believes that being pro-choice does not mean being pro-abortion, but rather means providing all women with the legal and safe option. “I don’t think anyone thinks abortion is a happy thing, but it’s important to recognize that you don’t know what a woman is going through, and telling her that whatever choice she makes is wrong is only making it worse for her,” Worth said.

Matthew Levecque, a senior at Leesville, is also pro-choice. As a man who cannot physically get pregnant, Levecque believes the decision of getting an abortion should be entirely up to women. “Personally, as a man, I don’t believe it’s truly my place to say whether a woman should or shouldn’t have an abortion, so when it comes to legislation, rules in place that would contradict the woman’s personal choice, should be taken away,” Levecque said via text. 

Like Worth, Levecque doesn’t see being pro-choice as being pro-abortion. “To say you are pro-choice does not mean you are pro-abortion, it just means you don’t believe that it’s anyone’s choice but the woman’s to dictate what she can or can’t do with her body,” Levecque said.

 

Political Views

 

When it comes to politics, abortion is usually brought into the beliefs of the candidates. Putting the outcome and future of women and their bodies in the hands of politicians may not result in  unanimous support of one specific side. If a person is sure of their beliefs on abortion, will they only support and vote for a candidate that aligns with those beliefs?

“I would vote for someone with a different opinion on this issue, but only if they held the same views as me on a large majority of other things while the other candidate did not,” said Greear. 

Greear does not let her pro-life standards outmaneuver issues of higher importance. Similarly, Sharp looks at candidates based on their other beliefs as a whole. “Politics is so difficult to navigate and people are never going to be perfect,” Sharp said. 

Contrasting with Greear and Sharp, Worth and Levecque are unsure if they could support a candidate that wasn’t also pro-choice. “This definitely is one of the factors that leans my support towards Democratic candidates. I don’t know if I could vote for a candidate that doesn’t support a woman’s choice,” Worth said. “When it comes to a candidate, I like to look at all of their stances on all issues, including abortion. If a candidate were to say they don’t support a woman’s choice to an abortion, or supporting decreasing women’s access to reproductive health care, it would have an affect on my opinion and commitment to that candidate,” Levecque said.

 

The Future of Abortions

 

New candidates are going to take office soon; they are sure to pass legislation making changes. The future of abortions that pro-lifers and pro-choicers hope to see revolves around these changes and the furthering of education for all.

Greear and Sharp hope that more light will be shed on the negativity surrounding abortions and that more people will value the life of the unborn child. 

“I simply hope for everyone to see that [babies] are not ‘clumps of cells’ nor are they exposable, they are living and have the right to life,” Greear said. “I hope to see that people view abortions more negatively; by that I mean I don’t want people to think abortions are the only option…I hope for [people] to think about the potential of who the child can become, and what greatness God might have in store for their child,” Sharp said.

Worth and Levecque hope to see increased availability of abortions and a reduction of the disgraceful connotation associated with abortions. “I hope to see abortions become available for all people everywhere around the world. Nobody should be denied that,” Worth said. 

“I hope, in the future, to end the stigma around abortion. Pro-life activists try to push a narrative that women who have abortions or seek abortions are bad people, when that’s not the case,” Levecque said.