We Asked, You Answered: Your First Abortion Debate

We asked our followers on Facebook and Twitter: “What is your earliest memory of getting involved in the abortion debate?” Here are a few of our favorite responses: 

Colette M.: I remember learning what an abortion was in 5th grade in 1976. I couldn’t comprehend it. Why would women think that having a baby would get in their way? They should stand up and demand better treatment! Guess I was a pro-life feminist without even knowing it!

Matt T.: My earliest memories are learning about it from watching The Daily Show as a child. I thought the other side was foolish for saying a child was alive before even being born, and only religious dogma could justify such a serious impediment to human sexual expression. How far I have come!

Caitriona B.: Probably when I was about 10 and my dad drunkenly told me my mom “got rid of the wrong ones.”

Michael C.: In 8th grade biology class they covered what makes something alive on the first day of class. I asked “So, is a fetus alive?” The teacher who I kind of assumed was a liberal said, “Yes, a fetus is alive.” I already knew but I figured if the teacher said it it would have more weight than if I did. I’ve done it in every biology class I’ve ever taken. No surprise I always get the same answer.

Andrew G.: The moment my future wife told me why I should be pro-life. Until then I was on the sidelines of the pro-choice team in the name of free will. She really changed my whole view of life with that conversation.

Crystal K.: Kindergarten, holding up a sign at a Life Chain event in Oregon that read, “Abortion Kills Children.”

Eric P.: High school. Mostly tried to keep to myself, but we had a lot of militant feminists/pro-abortionists attempting to “proselytize” abortion. When I had enough of the insults I finally said something back. Got heavily into the debate when I found out how many children had been murdered in this manner.

Sophie T.: First week of my freshman year in college, when my new friend said he was starting a pro-life club at our university. I’d always been pro-life in a vague sort of way, but I told my friend I’d help him without knowing what I was getting into. Little did I know I’d discover a passion for pro-life/whole-life advocacy.

Mandie R.: When I talked to my then fiance about if I were raped and got pregnant that I’d keep the baby because don’t believe in abortion, and he threatened me with how he wouldn’t be able to look at me the same if someone other guy did that to me and he wouldn’t be able to look at the kid if it wasn’t his. I was maybe 21 at the time.

Laura P.: Man, LiveJournal. You were fun while you lasted.

@maggery1570: Drawing horns and a devil’s tail on a picture of Bill Clinton in my kindergarten class because my mom told me he killed babies. She was arrested during an Operation Rescue protest in the 80s. Let’s just say my pro-life views have gotten a little more nuanced since I was 5!

Tiff M.: My freshman year in high school. I chose the pro-life position for my first persuasive essay in English.

Morgan W.: I don’t remember my first debate, but I remember the first time I saw a picture of an aborted baby. My mom was a pro-life leader in our community. I grew up with literature and knowledge of both abortion and fetal development. I am glad I knew the reality of abortion early on. It cemented the truth and none of the empty pro-choice arguments were ever able to stand.

[Photo credit: Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash]