Ask a Pro-Life Agnostic: Anonymous

Once a month or so, the Secular Pro-Life blog features a short interview with a pro-life atheist or agnostic. (See the full series of interviews here.) Although Secular Pro-Life is not exclusively for atheists and agnostics, historically they have played a key role in the organization. As they become more prominent in the pro-life movement generally, we’re excited for the opportunity to share their stories. This month, we welcome an anonymous pro-life agnostic.

How did you arrive at the anti-abortion position?

When I first formulated my opinion about abortion, I was ardently pro-choice. Not only was my family pro-choice, but everyone around me was, also. At the time, it was axiomatic to me that women’s bodily autonomy would prevail over a clump of cells. Even as my politics evolved from left to right and the feminist movement increasingly disenchanted me, I did not abandon my commitment to personal autonomy. To me, protecting personal autonomy was simply a pillar of a self-governed liberal democracy. Of course, I was only considering one half of the abortion debate. As such, my argument was satisfyingly neat. Who, I asked smugly, but religious zealots intent on transforming our country into an oppressive theocracy, could think otherwise?

Then, I got pregnant. My pregnancy and experience with motherhood did not radically change my position on abortion. While I still considered myself pro-choice, I began to question my worship of personal autonomy. This happens when you become pregnant and continues into parenthood: You no longer have the luxury of thinking solely about your own desires and needs. But my responsibility to my son began not at birth, but well before that. As soon as I laid eyes on my positive pregnancy test, I knew I was my child’s keeper. This was not an idea I learned, but an instinct.

This past summer, I discovered I was pregnant again. I became my second’s child keeper, and I remained their keeper for five weeks. Unfortunately, I began to bleed. During the several days of my miscarriage, I lost not just part of me, but someone I loved. My husband and I lost a life, however small or underdeveloped. Again, this was not an idea I learned, but an instinct.

In the aftermath of my miscarriage, I could no longer view elective abortion as morally defensible. Our right to autonomy is not absolute – no legal or moral right is. Preserving your autonomy does not justify destroying your child’s life.

How did you arrive at the agnostic position?

Secular upbringing

How do you contribute to the cause of saving lives in the womb?

I am fairly new to pro-life activism, so I have not taken any action toward the cause yet. But I’d like to (hence, I’m here).

What words of wisdom do you have to share?

Take solace in the fact that many of us will become parents and arrive at similar conclusions about fetal personhood. Though not every pro-choice parent will change her beliefs about abortion, I believe that anyone who has carried a child or loved someone who has can understand our side.

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