Word Usage Matters: Anti-Choice not Pro-Life

It is my habit to refer to people in the manner that they prefer. I find it causes me no problem to use First Nation, or if i know, by their Tribe or Band name. The use of Developmentally or Physically Disabled to refer to a person so affected seems reasonable to me. I don't find this in anyway restrictive to my freedom of speech or Kowtowing to the masters of  Politically Correctness; it is being respectful. Communications between people should not be a humiliating experience for either party. So when i found myself in conversation with Anti Choice advocates, I quite natural used the term Pro Life.

After receiving a polite comment or two about the usage of "Pro Life" instead of Anti Choice. I accepted the critique and looked at what I was doing. On a narrow level I was carrying on my normal habit of referring to a party or person in the manner of their own choosing. But was it the same circumstances as using LGBT when talking about the Gay community. I came to the conclusion that it was not the same. The flaw in my thinking was idea that self description was the same as accurate description. Using First Nations to describe our founding people is accurate and full. It doesn't mislead the listener or by using confusing or partial definitions.

"Pro Life" is accurate within a narrow space. They care about keeping the fetus alive till it is born, they express less interests after the birth. They seem to care little or nothing for the woman. Their stated goal is the elimination of Reproductive Choice. No choice means the fetus gets to live. So to call them Anti Choice is an accurate description because it encompasses the totality of their position.

So is there hypocrisy in my position now? Not at all. I am obliged to be respectful and conscious of other people and their naming conventions. But not to the point where is shifts from polite and honest recognition, to the participation in a masquerade. When the purpose is to draw the listener into some fictional space, I retain the right to disagree and call it as I see it.