The defining feature of a free society is every individual enjoying the freedom to make choices, good and bad, within the law, so long as you don’t harm another. Enjoying the liberty to make your own choices is so prized that political groups market themselves as supporting Americans’ autonomy of choice.
Now leftists are enraged the U.S. Supreme Court has let state legislatures choose what abortion laws to make. Instead of nine unelected justices appointed for life, the elected representatives of the people will once again determine abortion policy.
But how ironic that leftists proudly proclaim themselves the “pro-choice” folks when so many appear to be only “pro-choice” about “terminating” an unwanted pregnancy.
For example, most leftist “pro-choice”-ers oppose Americans keeping the right to choose to exercise our First Amendment free speech rights. This is evidenced by the proliferation of leftists’ restrictive “hate speech” codes on a great many state college, university, and even k-12 campuses. It is leftists who comprise the “cancel culture” mobs destroying so many individuals’ careers and lives for ever having expressed a view they don’t like. Indeed, polling data show most leftists want to outlaw everything they deem “hate speech,” which appears to be the expression of any ideas they find “offensive” or (ironically) “intolerant.”
“Pro-choice” leftists vehemently oppose Americans’ Second Amendment right to choose to keep their semi-automatic rifles or for even responsible adults under 21 to own any rifle. In fact, many oppose anyone retaining the choice to own any firearm – except, of course, government.
“Pro-choice” leftists adamantly oppose parental-choice vouchers empowering poor, disproportionally minority parents to choose their children’s schools. Such vouchers offer impoverished inner-city students their only escape from the usually failed public schools assigned them. Yet leftists work against the poor enjoying the same financial freedom to choose where to send their children to school as enjoyed by upper income (mostly white) parents. This is all the sadder considering how studies show poor children do much better in voucher schools.
“Pro-choice” leftists oppose employers retaining the choice to hire whomever they think best qualified to be employees. Instead, in the name of “diversity, inclusion, and equity” (DIE), they want government to impose “affirmative action” quotas on companies mandating race and sex be the decisive factors in hiring, promotions, and who sits on corporate boards.
Since most “pro-choice” leftists back “closed shop” laws making all factory workers belong to a union, they oppose letting employees choose whether they really want to join one.
And is there a “pro-choice” leftist disturbed that unionized workers generally can’t choose which political candidates and causes get the union dues automatically deducted from their wages? No, leftists are quite content that only (leftist Democratic) union bosses get that choice.
Leftists totally oppose state legislatures choosing to protect girls from having to compete with biological boys in sports, thus permitting them a fair chance at trophies and athletic scholarships.
On the health front, “pro-choice” leftists opposed letting ladies choose to buy silicone gel breast implants, despite studies showing they are safe. So much for “empowering women.”
“Pro-choice” leftists fought against Americans retaining the choice not to buy health insurance and not be fined for that choice. Hello, Obamacare. Many demand “single-payer” (government-dictated) healthcare denying us any choice to buy private health insurance at all.
In the Covid era, leftists have been the staunchest supporters of closing businesses and churches, as well as mandatory masking and vaccinations. So much for “my body, my choice.”
On abortion, “pro-choice” leftists wanted Obamacare to force private employers’ insurance to cover not just workers’ birth control, but even abortions. They also insist taxpayers have no choice but to pay for poor women’s abortions — Democratic Party policy since 2012.
So uncompromising on abortion are “pro-choice” leftists that they have demanded federal courts deny states the choice to pass any reasonable abortion regulations, such as just having abortion clinics tell women about alternatives to abortion (like adoption) or the different stages of fetal development, or even letting states choose to have 24-hour wait laws requiring women who check into an abortion clinic to think about their choice at least one more day. Most even oppose states choosing to have a juvenile notify a parent of an abortion. And, of course, leftists completely oppose states having the choice to protect babies in the womb with a heartbeat.
But leftists are fanatically “pro-choice” about every woman, including young girls, having the choice to end a pregnancy all nine months, regardless of circumstances. This somehow makes them the truly “pro-choice” Americans who are oh so “tolerant” and “inclusive” of the rest of us.
Informed observers may choose to be skeptical.
Dr. Douglas Young is a retired political science professor at the University of North Georgia.
