I used to support the murder of human life. I wish there was a better way to phrase it, so I could look better, but there is not. Abortion is the ending of a human life, and I supported it for the majority of my life. However, three years ago my opinion changed. Here is why I went from firmly pro-abortion to unapologetically pro-life. 

Since I was old enough to form a political opinion, I was more left leaning than not. There is nothing wrong with having these views, but there is a tendency to have political beliefs solely due to only having exposure to that perspective. While I followed people on social media because of their views on worker’s rights, gun control, and others, I was also exposed to views about abortion that were heavily supportive of the practice. My reasons for supporting abortion were stereotypical of what you would expect. I believed it was a women’s right to choose, that a fetus was not a living thing, and that it wasn’t my place to have an opinion because I am not a woman. Looking back, all these views were wrong and full of half-truths. 

Believing that abortion is solely a women’s right to choose negates many factors influencing that choice. A study from the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons found that about 75% of women who had an abortion reported that they were influenced to terminate the pregnancy. The same study found that nearly 60% of women aborted the baby to make others happy, and 30% said they aborted because they were afraid to lose their partner. Most women feel some sort of pressure to end their pregnancy, contrary to the concept of choice. When I was pro-abortion, these statistics were never brought up— obviously, as they do not support the narrative for abortion. 

A common phrase you have probably heard in discourse of abortion is something along the lines of, “No uterus, no opinion”. People who say it are truly convinced of its legitimacy. However, discounting the opinion of half the population solely because of their biological anatomy really misses the point. It takes two to make a baby, so telling a man that their opinion doesn’t count disregards their role. Additionally, it perpetuates the idea that the father of the child should not have a responsibility in the life of the baby. The father should be there every step along the way, sharing expenses, supporting the mother during her pregnancy, and helping raise the child. Their opinion on abortion is just as valid as a woman’s, especially considering when in perspective, abortion is ultimately a human rights issue. Everyone should be concerned.  

One question vital to the abortion debate is this: when does human life begin? Does it begin when the baby is born? But if it is, then why should we mourn miscarriages? Does it begin when a heartbeat is detected? Then life starts at about 6 weeks.  

Well, if we ask biologists, 95% of them would say that life begins at conception. The fact that 95% of scientists agree about this topic should tell us that the scientific community is not wrong. When I was pro-abortion, I never thought about when life began. I didn’t think it was relevant. However, when I was presented with the information that most biologists agree life begins at conception, I had to ask myself: “if I continue to believe that abortion is morally acceptable, does this mean I support the ending of a human life?”  

The simple answer is yes. Those who support abortion and know that life begins at conception, are knowingly supporting the murder of a child.  

Even looking at this issue from a moral perspective, we can see that it does not hold up. If ending a life in the womb is considered acceptable, why can’t we end life at other points of life as well? If we can end a life in the womb, why not end a life when someone gets too old and can’t live without assistance? If we can end life in the womb, why not end a life of someone who has a life altering disability, like down syndrome? These may seem like they are ridiculous questions, but they are very real and ones that must be grappled with.  

Last year, Republicans in North Carolina tried to pass a bill that would ban women from getting abortions if the fetus was dialogized with down syndrome. While this bill passed in the house, it was vetoed by the governor. The governor reasoned that “this bill gives the government control over what happens and what is said in the exam room between a woman and her doctor at a time she faces one of the most difficult decisions of her life.” While I do not deny that it is a difficult decision for a woman to make, this bill was about whether it should be legal for a baby to killed because of its disability. In essence, the governor was saying that a child with down syndrome does not deserve to live. This is a very scary reality that is closer to home than any of us care to admit. It resembles eugenics, the belief that human life can be ended if someone does not have desirable characteristics. This view was one that has been held by Adolf Hitler, who was responsible for the genocide of the Jewish people, Theodore Roosevelt who advocated for the elimination of Native Americans to make room for white settlements, and Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, which is the main abortion provider in America. Abortion in America is starting to resemble the eugenics movement. It should be stopped immediately. 

During my time as a pro-abortion advocate, I was not aware of any of these facts. While this was partially due to my ignorance, it was also because no one with similar views was talking about this information. Once I learned about the truth, I had to come to a decision. Do I still support abortion, even though it is the murder of a child, a decision most women are pressured into, and has its origins in eugenics? I had to decide whether I was going to choose the side of justice or continue to support a morally indefensible practice.  

I chose to become pro-life because it was the only choice to make.  

I am confident in my decision and am willing to stand by it no matter what. If you are still pro-choice, I beg you to reconsider. We are talking about the lives of the unborn here. No population is more vulnerable than they are. Justice for the least of these is a noble pursuit and they need as many advocates as possible. Only together can we hope to stop the evils of abortion in our lifetime and bring about a new age of justice.