Cameronh1403,
Perhaps I can shed a little light on the situation. I think your comment (understandably) conflates two different issues: Pro-life and Anti-Choice.
Do you recall the young gentleman at the start of the Oliver clip? “Life starts when you can hear a heartbeat. That’s it. But that view shouldn’t be forced on other people.”
That man is Pro-life – and god bless him. He’s thought about, and he has well-reasoned argument that goes back to the Hippocratic oath of Ancient Greece. But is NOT anti-choice. He accepts others may have a different viewpoint.
However, these abusive TRAP laws aren’t Pro-life, as they do almost nothing to further the dignity of life. These laws are Anti-Choice. As you note, these laws are about harassing women, especially poor woman, who are disproportionately women of color.
The Anti-Choice stance is broadly unpopular, so those who want to pursue this anti-woman politics [1] have to sell their policies as “Pro-Life.”.
The Pro-life argument applies to a helluva more than just abortion – just ask Pope Frances. It typically includes opposition to capital punishment, for example. It can easily be extended to paying for pre-K as a national obligation. The Pro-life argument is and should be a vital part of our national dialogue.
Unfortunately, the defenders of patriarchy have chosen abortion rights as one of their key issues, So they hide behind the sincere rhetoric of “Pro-life” Americans, of whom there are many, while trying to use the power of the state to force their views on women.
Hence the poverty of our discussion about this difficult issue.
[1] and who seem to be disproportionately middle-age white men from states with a history of legally sanctioned racism
p.s. A little bit about me. I grew up in one of these states. I am old enough to remember Roe v Wade. Planned Parenthood has had a profound affect on my family. This is not a just semantics to me: I am fiercely Pro-Choice.
