"Reproductive Rights"
Another linguistic concoction of the lunatic Left
Earlier this week actress Jennifer Lawrence formally endorsed Kamala Harris in the upcoming presidential election. In voicing her support for the non-democratically-elected Democrat candidate, Lawrence said, “I’m voting for Kamala Harris because I think she’s an amazing candidate and I know that she will do whatever she can to protect reproductive rights. That’s the most important thing, is to not let somebody into the White House who is going to ban abortion.”
On the surface, it would be very easy to:
dismiss Lawrence’s statement as yet another example of dippy Hollywood activism (“A lot of people like my movies, so my political views must be really important and totally credible!”),
make fun of the Lawrence’s simplistic word choice (“Isn’t Kamala, like, totally AMAZING? She should TOTALLY be president!”), or
fact check the notion that Trump wants to “ban abortion.” (He has repeatedly said that abortion is an issue to be decided at the state level. This is not the same as banning abortion altogether. Not even close.)
In keeping with the spirit of this blog, however, let’s focus on the term “reproductive rights,” a phrase the Left has concocted to advance its lunatic agenda. The root word of reproductive is “reproduce,” a clinical term for making and having babies, thus sustaining the human race. Abortion, of course, is the act of ENDING a human life; in essence, it is an ANTI-reproductive act.
The word “rights” is perhaps more powerfully misleading, in that most definitions of the word “rights” include some type of legal protection. When pro-abortion activists talk about the Constitutional right to an abortion, they’d like you to imagine the framers sitting down and saying, “Nobody sign this thing until we guarantee a woman’s right to abort her pregnancy if she does not want to have a baby for any reason! And for God’s sake, don’t let anyone ask her what that reason is!”
In reality, any Constitutional protection of abortion rights comes from Roe v. Wade (1973). The majority opinion in this case controversially stated that the act of having an abortion was protected by a right to privacy not specifically stated anywhere in the U.S. Constitution, but implied by several amendments (in this case, the 14th). Thus, the Constitutionality of abortion protections was murky even before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade via Dobbs v. Jackson (2022). If the argument is any less murky today, post-Dobbs, the clarity comes on the side of the ABSENCE of Constitutional protections.
So why does the Left use such an inaccurate term? First of all, it polls better. Undecided voters are more likely to support a “legal right” than an “aborted” act of any kind. The first is a feel-good phrase; the second connotes harshness, abruptness, negativity. Secondly, using the term “reproductive rights” gives the Left an opportunity to feel morally superior to anyone who disagrees with them. And if there is anything the Left enjoys more than the bastardization of the English language, it’s the feeling that they are better than you.
None of this means that you shouldn’t watch or enjoy Jennifer Lawrence’s movies. Lord knows you have the Constitutional right to watch whatever you want. But if you have questions about the U.S. Constitution, you might want to ask someone who isn’t voting for Kamala Harris because … she’s amazing.