Choice, Pro-Choice, Re-Choice, Post-Choice, Which One?

[HKHaugan]

To Choose or Not to Choose, That is the Question

 

I’m back in the mountains and it’s early in the morning but I woke up about 4am with a concern for the idea of choice, pro-choice and what choice is all about.  I couldn’t sleep so this article is the result.  We make all kinds of choices.  We all like the idea of being able to choose.  We are by nature pro-choice people.  Every human being likes to make choices and to make them freely.

 

Yes, I know.  You are wondering where this is going.  I’m glad I tweaked your wonder.  I hope I’ve got your attention.  The word ‘choice’ has been hi-jacked.  The ‘pro-choice’ phrase is a manipulative misuse of ideas.  To be ‘pro’ is to be for something.  As disciples of Jesus we find ourselves on the defensive because the phrase ‘pro-choice’ implies that since we are opposed to abortion we are opposed to free choice.  See what I mean?  If you are not ‘pro’ you are ‘anti.’  Whoa!  It’s time we got this straight.  Pro-choice involves a whole lot more than abortion.  It’s about every choice we make.  Follow me on a brief reasoning excursion.

 

Freedom in our society is being able to make choices without the hindrance of an imposed political dictatorship. So when we are free to make choices the only restriction place on those choices is choices that are not in the best interest of all people.  Those restrictions are called law.  The bottom line choice is the one we make to live under the law.  The bottom line choice, therefore, is to choose to obey or not obey the law.  That is a personal moral choice.  I choose to the best of my ability and knowledge to obey the law.  Any law by its very nature is moral.  (I know the question about what to do if a law is immoral.  We’ll get to that in another article.)  Right now let’s get down to the real issue.   I am first pro-moral then pro-choice.  My choices are pro-moral.  I choose the choice to live under the law and not break it.  I am thankful I live in a society that has the freedom of moral choice.  I cherish that freedom.  You can make the choice to be moral or immoral.  I choose to be pro-moral.

 

The question then is, ‘Why am I pro-moral?’   It’s because I’ve made a pre-choice, a moral choice.  I have chosen a source of moral authority for the choices I make.  Actually then I am ‘pre’-choice.  That is, before I make a choice I look to the reason, the foundation, the basis for all my choices.  Pre-choice is to choose a system of reason that enables me to sort out what is most helpful to me as I live in the context of others who have the same freedom.  That foundation affords me the opportunity to consider the consequences of every choice I make.  The problem with not making a pre-choice is that I might make a choice that will cause me to have to make a post-choice.  That is why having a moral foundation enables us all to live with one another’s choices. 

 

Now here’s the nitty-gritty question.  What do I do about the consequences of having to live with the problems my choices have brought about?  This is precisely where the so-called ’pro-choice’ movement is an illusion.  It is not really pro-choice at all.  It’s post-choice.  That’s right, post, p-o-s-t choice.  It’s choosing to solve a problem caused by having made a poor choice.  True, we have the ability to make choices but not all choices are helpful, neither to the person making them nor to the surrounding society that has to bear the consequences of those choices. 

 

So let’s get real.  Let’s be open and honest about what is really going on.  The ‘pro-choice’ movement is really a narrow ‘post-choice’ movement about one issue.  But it’s really more.  It’s really a movement that tries to justify bad choices and remove their consequences.  Get emotional, get political, organize and get ‘pro-choice’ as a platform, call ‘choice’ a health problem instead of a moral issue, support Planned Parenthood and demonize anyone opposed to immoral choices as ‘anti-woman.’  Put the opposition on the defensive. 

 

But come on, let’s call it what it really is, a ‘post-choice’ movement, expose it for what it is, a movement of denial, denial of morality for which there is no justification.  But it’s not just about abortion.  It’s about all our choices.

 

We need bumper stickers and those big outdoor signs that make people think, “Are you really pro-choice or post-choice?” “Are you pro-choice or pro-moral?”  “Are you pre-moral or post-moral?” Get people pondering them as they drive. 

 

That’s why I’m for starting a new movement.  It’s called the Pre-Choice Movement.  That is, let’s all get together and agree on a movement that will get people to make choices based on something more substantial than what makes me feel good right this moment.  What do I do now that I’ve got a problem because of the choices I’ve made?  When you’ve made a choice and the results were not what you wanted, expected nor considered what do you do then?  You can’t undo what you have chosen to let happen.  It’s “I’ve-got-to-pick-up-the-pieces-and-move-on” philosophy.  Unfortunately it doesn’t work.  There is no such thing as re-choice except as you choose not to make the same choice again.  This is why I say we need to start a pre-choice movement.

 

What is this pre-choice movement?  Actually, we already have one.  It’s called a relationship with the Lord Jesus.  He not only provides the foundation for making initial choices from moment to moment but also those that have been bad choices and the re-choice called repentance.   His manual is the Bible which contains everything necessary to being a pre-choice follower.  And if I do make choices that may have a bad outcome we are gracefully accepted when we choose to say we’ve blown it and return by making a re-choice to being re-stored and re-new our relationship with the Lord God or choose to begin a new one with Him. 

 

Again the falsely named ‘pro-choice’ movement is really ‘post choice.’  In reality it is immoral anarchy in disguise and its advocates are marching behind leaders whose trumpet call is the old familiar ‘Whatever-feels-good-do-it’ anthem.  Its slogan “My body, my choice” means live only for the moment of pleasure.  It excludes handling the moment’s consequences which always involves personal guilt, remorse, regret as well as family, friends and everyone in the society where those kinds of choices are made.  This is true, and a fact, especially when it means ending the life of an unborn child. 

 

The pre-choice movement has as its structural basis, “But each one should be careful how he builds.  For no one can lay a foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ (1Cor.3:10-11).”  How about let’s all join together in the Pre-Choice Movement and help those around us re-name and challenge the pro-choice folks (it actually includes all who don’t believe) who need to see what they are really doing which is trying to make everyone live in an immoral post-choice environment. 

 

So-called ‘pro-choice’ is really ‘post-choice death.’  But we have a re-choice possibility called forgiveness in a relationship with the Lord Jesus and a pre-choice program to prepare us for our everyday choices in every area of life.  My pro-choice idea is choosing to accept the Lord Jesus as personal Savior and Lord in the arena of choice.  That’s the best choice anyone can make.