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You are splitting hairs and dealing in semantics. If someone is pro-choice they are not against abortion. If they are not against it they are for it. You cannot have it both ways.

I'm against tattoos and body piercings for men, but that doesn't mean I believe they should be criminalized.

You are trying to classify all people who do not believe abortion should be criminalized as having the same position on abortion. There are many people who personally disagree with abortion but are not in favor of criminalizing it.

Then there is the question of when it becomes illegal if you do believe it should be criminalized. Some believe any form of birth control is wrong -- including the Pill and condoms. Some believe the key moment is conception and the morning-after pill is wrong. Some believe the first three months are OK for abortion but not later. And there are cultures past and present who believe killing a sickly baby after birth is the right thing to do (remember Sparta).

I also do not believe there is only one position on those who are "pro-life." From what I can tell (but I do not know for a fact), the essential qualification for being "pro-life" is that one believes abortion should be a crime. OK. What kind of crime? A misdemeanor? A felony? Aggravated Murder?

Then there is the question of punishment. If abortion is defined as premeditated murder, should that mean the death penalty is the proper punishment, or life in prison without parole?

These are serious questions with many possible answers. To reduce everything to two "teams" and pretend life is that simple is useful perhaps for mudfights and a simplistic level of debate, but not really useful for honestly and completely understanding the issue.

" I also do not believe there is only one position on those who are "pro-life."

I've had many discussions about abortion with friends, family and co workers.
I would say the majority would technically be considered pro life- abortion is not something they would consider, they don't know know anyone who has had an abortion, life begins at conception,etc, etc.
But, when I say-you're " pro life " then. They say No.
If asked by a pollster, they would say they were pro choice.
The reasons vary from thinking the official movement is comprised of radicals who burn down clinics
to the feeling that while they personally would not have an abortion -
they are not comfortable telling others what they should or should not do with their bodies-
to the " what if " situation where a 10 year old is raped
and their body is not mature enough physically and emotionally to carry a baby.
Like you said, just because someone says they are pro choice, does not automatically make them pro abortion.
BTW-The few I know who are truly die hard, pro abortion are liberal Democrats.
Despite what the sonograms show-they describe anything short of birth, as nothing more than a blob of protoplasm.
They are completely unreachable.

YDR, I agree that abortion is not as clear cut as some (on both sides of the issue) would seem to portray the argument. After many years of thinkerfying about abortion, I have come to the conclusion that the unborn are due all the protections guaranteed in our Founding Document, because they are humans and have certain inalienable rights which are violated when they are aborted. If one believes that a human is killed in an abortion, then it's a crime and those involved should be punished under law. This is the "conservative" position if you believe abortion is murder.

However, if I didn't believe that abortion violated anybody's rights and a human baby wasn't killed in the process, then I would think that government should stay out of the issue altogether. That would be the "conservative" position if one thought nobody's rights were being violated, becauce abortion = appendectomy.

Rudy has said he hates abortion, but is very much pro-choice-even going so far as admitting that he would cover the costs if someone close to him chose to abort. If abortion violates no rights, then why hate it? Who cares if the procedure is rare? I don't think he said he hates abortion because he hates all elective surgery-why specifically abortion? I think I might know, but what do you think?

Freegards