Why I’m Pro-Life and Pro-Choice
Part One
I recently watched After Tiller, a documentary that provides a glimpse into the lives of the four remaining doctors in the United States who openly perform late-term abortions, even after the murder of George Tiller. The film shows how they wrestle with the ethical dilemmas of performing abortions, some of the challenges they face in deciding how to handle each case, and how they wrap their heads around the fact they are the targets of constants death threats from extreme pro-life advocates.
In addition to helping me appreciate the complexity of the issue of abortion and the sacrifices that these doctors make in order to provide an unpleasant, but necessary, service to their patients, the documentary reminded me of an embarrassing phase in my life.
For a period, I was a pro-life activist.
Several factors motivated me to take up the pro-life cause in 2006 and 2007. One of the members of the church I attended at the time was a dedicated pro-life activist who frequently encouraged the congregation to support the cause; and I had just completed a Moral Theology class and was looking to put my beliefs into practice. (Un)fortunately, some other classmates and friends were also interested in taking a stand and we had a professor who was eager to be our advisor.
We called ourselves “Abortion-Age Survivors” for obvious reasons. We were among the fortunate few who barely avoided the plague of abortion and we were there to save lives and recruit some souls for the Lord’s work. This is how we described ourselves on Facebook:
A group of concerned students dedicated to shedding the truth about human life. Our goal is to defend human life, especially that of the preborn. Since Roe vs. Wade in 1973, one third of our peers have been lost to abortion. As Abortion-Age Survivors, we realize our obligation to act through discussion, education, prayer, political action, and other peaceful means.
Some of the people closest to me were very surprised, but they let me continue on the path I chose. Sometimes, you just need to let people burn bad ideas out of their system. We printed fliers to hand out and post on notice boards, and we held debates that mainly discussions about why abortion was wrong. No one opposed us publicly; we were at a Catholic university after all.
In time, I began to realize the error of my ways: many of the ideas behind the movement conflicted with my personal values and my belief in women’s rights (human rights really), and my faith and personal relationship with God is not blind to the plight of women in very difficult circumstances. I realized that my desire for good and justice had been mixed in with hate and prejudice. So, I eventually stopped attending their meetings and left the Facebook group to the true zealots.
Part Two
Today, that pro-life group still exists. They have chosen the less post-apocalyptic name of “Advocates For Life” and they describe themselves as “a group of concerned students dedicated to shedding the truth about human life.” Less threatening and direct, but still the same prejudice and unwillingness to recognize that it’s not a simple matter for a woman to choose to have an abortion.
I look back today and I resent the fact that my zeal was misdirected and used to fuel a movement that hinders women’s access to healthcare and threatens the wellbeing of healthcare providers. Abortion is a matter of life and death, but no one is perfect and no one on either side of the debate should be harassed or threatened for their beliefs.
I now realize that I am both pro-life and pro-choice (or neither, strictly speaking). I believe that a woman has the right to choose, but I would prefer that the life of the child be preserved in cases where the pregnancy does not threaten the life of the mother or the child. Everyone would be better off if both sides worked together to provide access to quality healthcare and counselling services that provide women with the full set of options and support regardless of her decision.
Part Three
I was motivated to write about this unpleasant, but important topic because I read a few articles by Zaron Burnett III on Medium including “How I Learned I Was Pro-Choice by Secretly Aborting My Friend’s Baby.” I recognized that I also had to open my eyes and take some sort of stand on what I believe in.
Mr. Burnett’s articles on feminism also challenged me to take a stronger stand for gender equality. I actually recently attended a talk on modern feminism by a few BU students and Professor Diane Balser that was very insightful. It was slightly uncomfortable to be one of three or four men in a room full of women’s rights activists but I’m glad I was able to hear what they had to say.
I actually planned to talk about that in this article, but airing my past mistakes and getting my thoughts about abortion out has me beat. You can read some of Mr. Burnett’s other articles instead:
“I believe a woman’s temple
Gives her the right to choose, but baby don’t abort”
Frank Ocean, “We All Try”
