I was listening to two feminists debate abortion the other day and realized that I really have become pro-life. Not just marginally anti-abortion, but big-time pro-life. Now I'm trying to figure out how I can go about helping women that are affected by this. I'm too scared to go pray outside an abortion clinic (although I met a girl last night who does just that and was quite inspired by her). But time and time again the thought keeps coming into my mind that perhaps I should volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center.
Maybe it's because I read part of Fumbling Towards Grace's thesis, and it was so interesting and motivating to me. She makes the very important point that we cannot just be pro-life by being against abortion; part of being authentically pro-life is helping the mother. It doesn't matter how you feel about the choices this woman made that resulted in her pregnancy; what matters is that you love and aid this woman and her child.
Here's a great quote from it:
Part of the reason why I used to consider myself pro-choice was because I never wanted to see a woman put in the position of having to choose between finishing her education or having a child because of an unplanned pregnancy. I still feel that way. However, what has changed is my belief about what the best way to address the situation is. Abortion places a heavy burden on women; it asks them to sacrifice, it requires them to lay their bodies down and sacrifice their child for the sake of their education. Abortion requires nothing from society, other than its approval.
Instead of telling women, “If you get pregnant unexpectedly, you get to choose between having an abortion and staying in school, or having your baby and dropping out”, we should be challenging the structures in our society that make those the only two options available to women.
That's the whole idea behind the group Feminists for Life.
I love it! Demanding that feminists help actual women, instead of promote some theoretical cause.
I also find the quotes by the original feminists (suffragettes such as Susan B. Anthony) to be super interesting. (Click on these posters to see them bigger, and go here to read more feminist quotes against abortion.)
And I'll leave you with this thought:
