2023 Year in Review
Secular Pro-Life was hard at work in 2023! In January, we attended the March for Life, where we spoke at the Rehumanize meetup and networked at the National Pro-Life Summit. Later that same month we endorsed the Post-Roe Future vision statement, and Kelsey spoke on a panel at St. Thomas University School of Law. In February, Monica was published in Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics and spoke on Support After Abortion’s webinar “Meeting Clients Across Different Belief Systems.” Secular Pro-Life joined a broad coalition in the #StopAbortionRX campaign, boycotting and protesting CVS and Walgreens for their plans to sell abortion drugs. In March, Walgreens rolled back its plans to distribute lethal abortion prescriptions in many pro-life states, but it still plans to profit from killing unborn babies and remains subject to boycott. Secular Pro-Life held a trivia night fundraiser, and Monica appeared on a two-part ERI podcast answering the critical question: What should the pro-life movement do now? (Listen to Part 1 and Part 2.)
In April, we joined our Missouri pro-life friends for the March on the Arch. Monica delivered an updated version of her “Deconstructing Three Pro-Choice Myths” presentation to the Oles for Life group in Minnesota. May was National Foster Care Month, so Kelsey shared her reflections as a pro-life foster parent. Secular Pro-Life hired Becca as our volunteer coordinator. Monica returned to the ERI podcast to record “Undercover at an Abortion Clinic while 28 weeks pregnant,” and was interviewed on the Know Why podcast. Petra explained the science behind abortion pill reversal, and Terrisa gave us five essential activism tips. In June, on the first anniversary of Dobbs, Kelsey presented the pro-life argument from the secular perspective at the National Right to Life convention in Pittsburgh. Monica recorded three podcasts — Spillover, Life Talk, and ERI’s “The Psychology of Persuasion” — and networked at the Pro-Life Women’s Conference.
Monica joined forces with Feminists Choosing Life of New York for a July webinar on “The Science Behind the Abortion Debate.” We also published a helpful guide to making online debates worthwhile. In August, Secular Pro-Life attended the end of Herb Geraghty and Lauren Handy’s trial to show our solidarity with these pro-life political prisoners. We debunked the myth that abortion pills are safer than Tylenol; in reality, abortion drugs are 8,750 times more likely to send a person to the hospital. Becca began publishing our volunteer newsletter (fill out our volunteer survey to be added to the distribution list). In September, we highlighted encouraging CDC data showing an improvement in maternal mortality post-Dobbs, and Monica gave her “Building Bridges” keynote at the Samaritan Summit (including announcing SPL’s new PRC curriculum).
In October, we scripted and recorded a video with Live Action that will be published soon. In November, Monica reprised her “Building Bridges” presentation in collaboration with Democrats for Life of Colorado and appeared on The Narrative podcast. We analyzed the WeCount report on abortion rates after Dobbs. Terrisa debated Frances Kissling in Peter Singer’s Princeton ethics class. And we reaffirmed our commitment to the fight for life after a devastating loss in Ohio. In December, Monica developed her “Overlooked Findings of the Turnaway Study” presentation and shared three reasons you should let people know you’re pro-life. We also shared some of the ways we’ve been partnering with pro-lifers around the globe. And we calculated that Becca has worked on SPL projects with over 100 volunteers this year.
Now we prepare for another 12 months of bold, analytical anti-abortion activism in 2024.
Our end-of-year fundraising will soon come to a close. If you found our work valuable in 2023, please consider a tax-deductible donation. Thank you so much for your continued support of Secular Pro-Life’s vision. See you next year!
