The Misnomer of Reproductive Rights

In the United States of America, we have the right to reproduce and have children.  If a man and woman want to have a child, they don’t have to apply for a childbearing license, they don’t have to get permission from anyone, they don’t even have to be married.

So why does the American Civil Liberties Union have to fight for reproductive rights?  Why does the Center for Reproductive Rights “envision a world where every woman is free to decide whether and when to have children,” as stated in their vision?  Isn’t this already possible?  Why are reproductive rights such a hot topic?

The truth of the matter is that these organizations have a flawed concept of the term reproductive rights.  The CRR does not need to fight for a world where every woman is free to decide whether and when to have children, at least not in America.  What they really fight for is a world where every woman has the ability to decide whether and when to have children, while still exercising sexual freedom without the serious responsibilities of parenthood.

As Americans, we love our freedoms and our rights.  We think of ourselves as the champions of equality and liberty.  After all, we revolted against England and an oppressive king to assert our freedoms, liberties, equality, and rights.  These have been the ideals and values of our nation since the founding.  However, we must understand that freedom and rights still have their limits.  For example, my right to Life overrules another man’s claimed right to kill me.  Many people hear the word free or freedom and think of it in the unrestricted sense, yet we have many laws that we must obey as citizens of a free nation.

Unfortunately, the law is on the side of our opponents right now.  A woman can legally pay someone to kill her unborn child.  This is because if abortion were illegal, the child would be impeding on the woman’s rights, according to abortion advocates.  They neglect the right to life of the child and turn the woman’s choice into a right.  After all, what kind of patriotic American would deny people of one of their rights?

This cunning disguise has kept abortion legal for 37 years, but it is time we expose the truth of the situation.  So the next time you hear people use the term reproductive rights, make sure you know exactly what kind of rights they are talking about.