Democrat Pro-Choice and Republican Pro-Life Abortion Politics: The By-Product of the Supposed Existence of a Binary Between the Church and State
Date
2023-03-17
Authors
Y., Ceren
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Abstract
The paper analyzes issue-framing surrounding abortion in the United States which include the Republican Party’s pro-life posture which uses a religious narrative and the Democrats’ pro-choice stance which uses a secularized rights-based narrative. Analyzing the difference demonstrates an effective convergence between the secular and religious. The paper identified the secularized use of rights-based issue-framing by the Democrats’ pro-choice which emphasizes gender, socio-economic status, and race, based on individualist values. The Democrats’ pro-choice platform is also contingent on women’s rights and bodily autonomy. Thus, identifying that the issue-framing has become increasingly contentious, highlighted by a taboo trade-off (suggesting the violation of specific moral values), as compared to a tragic trade-off. The secularization of pro-choice argumentation, placing utmost importance on individual autonomy, has been perceived by some as a violation of public values, namely, a taboo trade-off regarding the sanctity of life. The paper identifies the Republican pro-life argumentation which emphasizes states’ rights and the sanctity of life, and a religion-based (Christian) conceptualization of abortion. Both positions are laden with moral values calling into question the supposed distinction between politics and religion. The paper analyzes these narratives through a discourse analysis of the abortion politics literature.
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Keywords
religion, morality, voting, democracy, secularism, pro-life, pro-choice, politics, Abortion