Reply #14: Where on earth did I say anything about "softening"? [View All]

[IrateCitizen]

I get so frustrated by these kinds of discussions, because we end up acting as if we're on opposite sides of the issue as opposed to being 99.9% on the same side.

I'm not talking about "softening" the issue here, CWeb. I'm talking about presenting it in a manner that indicates that the left is not about supporting ABORTION, per se, but about supporting a woman's right to CHOOSE whether or not to have an abortion. There are significant portions of the populace that believe that the left wants to impose abortion on them, but when presented with the argument that the right wants to OUTLAW abortion whereas the left wants to ensure that it is legal for a woman to simply CHOOSE whether or not to have one, they say that they support the right to CHOOSE, even if they don't personally believe in ABORTION.

Reframing is not about softening a view. It's about restating it in different terms. Dammit, I'm on your side on this, CWeb! I would NEVER support a politician who wanted to place more limits on ANY kind of reproductive choice. I'd NEVER support a politician who wanted to restrict, in any way, a woman's access to an abortion. But I would like to see this issue FRAMED and DISCUSSED in a different way, because as it is now the right wing has somehow framed their oppressive and intrusive stance as the compassionate one, and ours as the rigid and uncompromising one. It's a needless disadvantage that we need to eliminate.