Ask a Pro-Life Atheist: Keegan R.
Once a month or so, the Secular Pro-Life blog features a short interview with a pro-life atheist. (See the full series of interviews here.) Although Secular Pro-Life is not exclusively for atheists, historically atheists have played a key role in the organization. As atheists become more prominent in the pro-life movement generally, we’re excited for the opportunity to share their stories. This month, we welcome atheist Keegan R.
How did you arrive at the anti-abortion position?
It wasn’t until a few years ago that I became pro-life. As an atheist who takes pride in being rational and scientific, I was neither for far too long.
I don’t have kids and have no experience with abortion in any way, so for a long time it was easy for me to be pro-choice. After all, fetuses are just “clumps of cells,” right?
That’s what I believed until I came across pro-life videos online. I saw what aborted babies look like and they most certainly are not just clumps of cells. The faces of those poor humans is what ultimately changed me.
Those babies feel. They have heartbeats and unique DNA that will never exist again. How could anyone inflict pain upon an innocent life? How could someone completely erase their own child from existence? Because they don’t see that face, those little hands and feet.
They are human. They deserve life the same as anyone else.
How did you arrive at the atheist position?
I was raised in an atheist household, so that has always been my default point of view. But it wasn’t until I did some soul searching and worked my way through various other practices and belief systems that I ultimately arrived back at atheism.
No one is responsible for my life but me. I am not at the mercy of a single, all-powerful being who could turn my life upside down at any moment or damn me to hell if he so chooses. How could a caring god do such things? How could a caring god give humans free will then punish us for it? How could a caring god give children cancer or let them be hurt or even be killed? These predicaments are what ultimately turned me away from any organized religion.
How do you contribute to the cause of saving lives in the womb?
I’ve recently begun donating to various pro-life organizations, and I share many educational resources on my social media to friends and family if they choose to learn from them. It’s not much, but I do what I can at this point.
What words of wisdom do you have to share?
We can’t make abortion a political or divisive subject. All life is precious, no matter what. We can all work together to protect the most vulnerable, and that means protecting the lives of preborn babies.
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