Framed

Today during Mr. Coit's lecture stemming from our interest groups activity, he said the phrase "abortion group". I know he didn't mean it that way, but that's how people think of it. "Pro-" and "Anti-" abortion groups. And this led my thoughts to another phrase: political framing.

According to the Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research, political framing is a schema of interpretation—that is, a collection of anecdotes and stereotypes—that individuals rely on to understand and respond to events. Basically, it is used by competing interest groups to make their contrast group look worse. That's why Mr. Coit's "Anti-abortion" groups call themselves "Pro-Life", seeing as life is generally something people enjoy. On the other end, "Pro-Abortion" groups (which is a misnomer, since most of the people in this category don't actually like abortion), call themselves "Pro-Choice", since choice is also has a generally positive connotation.

The reason I used the abortion issue as my example is because of the false political framing used. Sure, on the surface, "Pro-life" supporters seem like they uphold the "right to live". But let's look closer. Former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin proclaimed being Pro-Life back in November of 2006. However, she stated in that same month of that same year, this. "If legislature passed death penalty law, I would sign it. We have a right to know that someone who rapes and murders a child or kills an innocent person in a drive by shooting will never be able to do that again."

Did you catch the hypocrisy? No? Alright, let me lay this out for you with a rhetorical question. How can you be "pro-life" and also be pro-death penalty? The reason this is a rhetorical question is that you can't. "Pro-life" implies that you are against everything that would cause death; including, but not limited to, the death penalty, war, and the ability to euthanize dogs. Obviously, Mrs. Palin is not opposed to all of these things, thus making her not "pro-life".

I would argue that a more appropriate title would be "anti-abortion" (because "anti-choice" is a false frame as well, just biased in the other direction), but I can't support this assertion without also arguing against the term "pro-abortion". People who are "pro-choice" are not pro-abortion. I am personally pro-choice, but nothing short of rape or the threat of dying during childbirth would cause me to get an abortion. I think that getting an abortion for selfish reasons like forgetting to use a condom is disgusting, but I respect that a woman has the right to choose what goes on with her body.

In short, political framing, while somewhat useful in the world of policies, is annoying, and we should be more critical towards it. I don't care what your politics are, but just make sure the labels you place on them are truthful. Because if you can't stand behind an actual representation of your beliefs, then you may want to reexamine your beliefs.