Tag: anti-abortion

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Do Pro-Lifers Help Women? Know About Pro-Lifers

Interview with Chelsey Youman

Why do women seek abortion? Is abortion truly the best solution to her problems? Is the pro-life movement active in addressing those problems in helpful and empowering ways for women?

Bringing perspective to these difficult yet important questions in this episode of the Know Why Podcast is Chelsey Youman, the Texas State Director and National Legislative Advisor for Human Coalition. Human Coalition uses online marketing strategies to reach women who are considering abortion. When women come in contact with Human Coalition, they’re immediately connected with a licensed nurse who offers support and resources that address the root of the woman’s need.

In her interview with Know Why, Chelsey noted that 76 percent of surveyed women who are seeking an abortion say they would rather parent than if their circumstances were different. “And that’s where our organization began,” Chelsey said of Human Coalition, “helping to fix those circumstances so she could see hope.”

“Does she really want [an abortion], or does she feel like she doesn’t have any other choice?”

Know Why Podcast

While every woman’s set of circumstances is unique, Chelsey said they see some consistent themes among women who reach out to Human Coalition and are considering abortion. Those include the need for emotional support, pressure from others including male partners and even family members, the costs of childcare, and lack of housing.

There are over 2,400 pregnancy resource centers in the nation that are dedicated to helping pregnant women in need. Human Coalition connects women with local pregnancy centers. It also offers a Continuum of Care program with 7,000 resources available to create an individualized care plan for each woman that will help her gain stability and independence. Several states, including Texas, have also agreed to provide assistance programs for pregnant women and parents after their children’s birth or adoption.

“It is always the right thing to say that innocent human life is worthy of protection.”

Chelsey Youman

These charitable and government resources aren’t often covered in the media, Chelsey said. When asked what pro-lifers could do to better help women, she responded that the church could be more involved in helping pregnant women and offering support to post-abortive women.

If you want to learn more about Human Coalition, the resources available to pregnant women, and the resources available to parents through Human Coalition’s Continuum of Care, click on the links below.

Resources

  • Human Coalition
  • The Pregnancy Network — If you are pregnant or parenting a child age 3 and under, find out if you are eligible for assistance with childcare costs, food assistance, healthcare, housing, and more.
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Podcasts

Is it Possible to be Anti-Abortion and Feminist?

Ft. Interview with Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa

Women want “half the pie,” and abortion doesn’t give it to them. That’s what Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa, founder and president of New Wave Feminists, asserts in this episode of the Know Why podcast.

Feminism is defined as “belief in and advocacy of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes expressed especially through organized activity on behalf of women’s rights and interests.” Today, however, it can seem like the word “feminism” has a lot more attached to it.

For instance, modern feminism is seen by many as inextricably linked with abortion. This was made clear in early 2017, when pro-life organizations like New Wave Feminists were publicly booted from the sponsor list of the historic Women’s March on Washington. (Destiny and New Wave Feminists went to the Women’s March anyway. She shares the full story in this episode.)

But that event also highlighted the growing number of women who consider themselves “pro-life feminists.” Like other feminists, they fight for equality of the sexes. But they argue abortion contributes more to women’s inequality than liberation. 

“That’s why society as a whole thinks we need abortion, cause it’s a cop-out,” Destiny said. “It allows us to retain these patriarchal structures of a world that was built for men, by men, and doesn’t accommodate womanhood.”

Women’s Rights in the Workplace

Feminists for Life, founded in 1972, claims that “abortion is a reflection that we have failed women — and women have settled for less.” For instance, pregnant women and mothers often face workplace discrimination. Some women are fired, passed over for promotion, or mistreated when they announce pregnancy. Others are explicitly pressured by their employers to abort. Pro-life feminists believe women’s rights in the workplace, from equal pay to parental benefits, will empower women more than legal abortion.

“There is this level of underlying resentment towards women in corporate America and in Academica whenever they do continue a pregnancy,” Destiny told Know Why.

Bodily Autonomy From Existence?

But what about the argument that women have a right to bodily autonomy? Pro-life feminists agree, but point to scientific evidence that from fertilization, the fetus is a genetically unique human being, with a body distinct from its mother’s.

“When it comes to issues like bodily autonomy, I think you should have it the moment your body first exists,” Destiny said. “Women have been treated as property for most of millennia, and so you have this new kind of rise of rights and liberation, but are we becoming the patriarchy ourselves? Are we now treating another subset of the human family as property based on their vulnerabilities?”

Seeing Them Both

On its website, New Wave Feminists asserts that “no woman ever wants to have an abortion.” A study by the Guttmacher Institute found that most women abort because “having a baby would dramatically interfere with their education, work or ability to care for their dependents, or they could not afford a baby at the time.”

“The pro-life side, a lot of times they see one person; they see the unborn child. And the feminist side sees one person; they see the woman,” Destiny said in a documentary called “Pro-Life Feminist.” “But pro-life feminists see two people. We want to protect and support two people.”

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