When did you start opposing abortion?
Hundreds of people have now taken our survey of non-traditional pro-lifers. Among other questions, we asked “If you haven’t always been opposed to abortion, when did you start opposing it?” Below is a selection of answers.
Going through the experience of pregnancy and birth. I’m a scientist, so it’s silly that I would not have been aware of the stages of life etc, but I simply did not appreciate how quickly development occurs and how early in pregnancy the fetus becomes very close to being what almost anyone would recognize as a small person.
Rebecca D., slightly conservative atheist woman
Realizing that you are a unique whole human being from the moment sperm hits the egg, never before seen and will never see again.
AK, very conservative Jewish woman
I lost my belief in an afterlife.
Baron Brass, young* politically moderate non-religious man
Dobbs.
DC, politically independent Black Muslim woman
Experiencing pregnancy made me “personally pro-life”. Facing the uncomfortable inconsistencies in my position made me “politically pro-life”.
Michelle Buenrostro, young slightly liberal bisexual Latina atheist
Believing the “clump of cells” argument until learning some basic biology.
Jim H, slightly conservative agnostic gay man
Acknowledging and educating myself on the basic science that the beginning of the existence of an organism is fertilisation with the creation of a zygote, and the humanity of a ZEF. After I learned that fact, not any pro-choice argument, even a strong personhood one, could counter it.
Anonymous, young* bisexual atheist Asian woman
Finding out secular and feminist pro lifers existed and listening to their biological and philosophical arguments.
Anonymous, young, slightly liberal bisexual agnostic woman
I went from being pro-choice to being latent to being pro-life. It was a progression that happened as I reconciled my own abortion experience and realized the pain and depression that it brought on. I hadn’t really realized that a lot of my poor choices were a result of the guilt, hurt, and shame I felt about aborting my first pregnancy. Once I had counseling and told my whole story, I was able to fit those pieces together and realized two things: (1) my baby was in fact alive and a human being and (2) abortion killed that human being and robbed me of experiencing the gift of that child.
AD, somewhat conservative Latina Christian
I thought I had to support abortion when I left religion. Secular Pro-Life and other perspectives brought me back.
HB, somewhat conservative agnoostic woman
*For this post, “young” describes anyone under age 30.
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