We Asked, You Answered: Conversations Across the Aisle

We posed this question to our followers on social media:

You’re hanging out with a pro-choice friend who doesn’t know you’re pro-life. She says “I can’t believe these attacks on reproductive rights. My daughters are going to have fewer rights than I had.” How do you respond?

Here are a few of the top responses, lightly edited for clarity.

Caitriona B.: “Fewer rights to do what?”

Katie S.: “I say, ‘Oh, maybe you didn’t know, but I’m actually pro-life. If you’d like, I can explain why.'”

Reming M.: “Your grandkids will have the right to exist though.”

Sophie G.: “I have a daughter whom I was pregnant with when Roe v. Wade was overturned. When that was all going down and lots of people said things like that, I’d usually respond with ‘I’d like my daughter to grow up in a world where it was never legal for me to walk into a clinic and pay a doctor to kill her.’ That usually got people’s attention and helped steer things in the direction of having a conversation about abortion rather than them just making an angry statement. We all want the best possible future for our children, but we disagree on how to get there.”

Albany R.: “I’ve had this said to me a few times when I first moved to our little town. I just asked, ‘How does someone have fewer rights by not being killed?’ Normally, it just takes them back, and they start on a new argument or question or don’t want to keep talking about it.”

Olivia M.: “I usually say something like ‘Ah that’s crazy, I haven’t lost any rights.’ Because it’s true, abortion is not something I consider a right of mine or a valid consideration, so my life, autonomy, and rights remain completely unchanged.”

Sean C.: “Rights aren’t predicated on the destruction of other human persons. The basic right to exist predicates all other rights. Without that, you don’t have ‘rights’ — just privileges extended by someone in a position of power.”

Samantha: “She’s not going to lose her human rights to life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness. What’s happening is our government is protecting the human right to life for humans in the womb as well. Your rights end where another life begins.”

Kristina T.: “There’s a lot of tension and division around abortion right now. I can imagine that many women are afraid, especially those in tough situations. I don’t think we’ve ever talked about this issue before. I’m pro-life, but I’d love to hear your thoughts and where you’re coming from.”

WriterOfMinds: “I see embryonic and fetal people gaining rights and being freed from oppressive systems that treat them as disposable. To me, that’s progress.”

Rochell: “Usually I point out the fact that one of the reasons I’m pro-life is because my husband and our daughter are both adopted.“

Elizabeth B.: “I think I would say that I see the issue very differently, and outline what I think the benefits are to my daughters: that workplaces may have to accept women as both mothers and workers now, that their future spouses won’t be allowed to ignore their role in reproduction by relying on abortion, and that they will hopefully come to live in a society that accepts the weak and handicapped by allowing them to be born. I would stick to the positives that I see for my children and the culture.”

Anastasia R.: “Why don’t they know I’m pro-life though? That’s the real question.”

[Photo credit: Caroline Hernandez on Unsplash]