Top 10 Articles of 2021

What a year it has been! Thank you to all our loyal readers. The top articles of 2021 covered a lot of ground. Debunking was a major theme this year, as evidenced by how many of these titles begin with the word “No.” Without further ado, the most-read articles on the Secular Pro-Life blog in 2021 are…

10. The Texas Heartbeat Act: Answers to 11 Frequently-Asked Questions—Guest author Daniel Gump examined the Texas Heartbeat Act in detail, including its unique enforcement mechanism.

9. Pro-Life Tips to Reason Honestly and Argue Persuasively—An interview with our good friend Josh Brahm of the Equal Rights Institute.

8. No, the Mexico City Policy does not drive up international abortion rates—The United States can promote non-violent, legitimate reproductive healthcare around the world without subsidizing foreign abortion businesses.

7. Why artificial wombs pose a challenge to pro-choice personhood arguments—Dr. Alex Hyun summarized a thought experiment recently published by philosopher Nick Colgrove, challenging pro-choice criteria for personhood.

6. No, This Peanuts Cartoon is Not a Good Anti-Abortion Argument—Sometimes we’ve got to call out our own people. There are plenty of excellent reasons to be pro-life, so why do the worst reasons go viral?

5. We Asked, You Answered: How Former Pro-Choicers Changed Their Minds—Pro-life persuasion, personal experiences with parenthood, the growing extremism of abortion supporters, and increased scientific literacy all played a role.

4. Evidence that abortion restrictions decrease *total* abortion rates (not just legal abortion rates)—Bookmark this thorough review for the next time you hear “You can’t end abortions, only legal abortions!”

3. No, Pennsylvania is not fining women for miscarriages—Seriously, where do they come up with this stuff?

2. Our cultural gaslighting of women who miscarry before 20 weeks—”Thanks to our fiery, never-ending national abortion debate, there are countless voices loudly and incessantly insisting that human embryos and fetuses are not babies. Worse, they often go further and imply that viewing preborn humans as children is ignorant or superstitious. This kind of condescension insults and silences people (pro-choice and pro-life alike) who grieve their miscarriages as the deaths of their children.”

1. Five years later, 96% of women denied abortion no longer wish they could have had one. (Turnaway Study)—The Turnaway Study is usually presented as a slam dunk in favor of abortion, but if you take the time to actually read it, the findings are much more mixed. The overwhelming majority of mothers who are prevented from getting an abortion are grateful for their children’s lives.

Side note: we have excluded popular articles promoting the Pro-Life Flag design contest, since it has concluded. Check out the winning design and learn more at the Pro-Life Flag website.

[Photo credit: Mimi Thian on Unsplash]