The pro-life movement is a strange phenomenon. It’s one of the most racially, politically, and socially diverse movements I’ve ever encountered (although the pro-abortion movement boasts a similarly wide appeal). From where I’m sitting, in my steeped-in-western-Pennsylvania worldview, my natural tendency is to see the pro-life movement as a very fired-up, heavily religious movement so thrilled by the overturn of Roe v. Wade that we’ve forgotten that reality is messy and does not sort itself out simply because the Supreme Court issued a ruling in Dobbs.
Yes, we: I’ve been pro-life my entire life—being born in a Third World country makes it incredibly obvious that circumstances of birth do not determine the value of life—so take these critiques as friendly. However, they are also critiques. The pro-life movement is not immune from communication errors by virtue of the righteousness of its cause. And, while the issues of a national movement united solely by opposition to abortion may have been negligible before the overturn of Roe, those issues are of national importance now that we actually have to convince people that abortion ought to be restricted nationwide. That said, here are 4 things the pro-life movement needs to stop doing for us to be better, smarter, and more persuasive to our fellow Americans.
1. Not emphasizing that science is on our side. Science is on the side of the pro-life movement as concerns the humanity of the developing fetus. This is not simply a theory, but an undeniable fact supported by empirical analysis: human fetuses are human. End of story. As we’ll talk about, you don’t need to talk about the Bible or show people pictures of dead fetuses to explain the scientific side of this—and Americans’ opinions reflect this more than you might think.
When a fetus passes the 6-week mark of development (approximately the time of detectable cardiac activity), little more than a quarter (26 percent) of Americans believe that abortion should be illegal. That may not seem like much but fast-forward to when that same fetus is 24 weeks into development (approximately the end of the second trimester), almost half of Americans think abortion should be illegal (48 percent).
That’s a significant difference, and I’d put out a very simple thesis here: a second-trimester baby looks more human and it’s becoming a lot more difficult to look past the science on fetal development. Other analysis paints an even more extreme picture, like this pre-Dobbs AP poll:
“61% of Americans say abortion should be legal in most or all circumstances in the first trimester of a pregnancy. However, 65% said abortion should usually be illegal in the second trimester, and 80% said that about the third trimester.”
The science supports the pro-life movement—that trend is in our favor. Further success means that we continue to present the scientific facts and not back down from the logical and moral implications of these arguments. You’ll notice this has nothing to do with the Bible, which takes us to…
2. Talking about Jeremiah 29:11 to people who don’t care. This is audience analysis 101: pro-lifers are approximately 73 percent highly religious by some estimates, and the pro-abortion movement is about 37 percent highly religious by contrast. That is a huge difference, and it takes us to a hard tactical pill to swallow: if you’re religious, and you’re talking to non-religious people about abortion, consider shutting up about Jeremiah 29:11. Religious affiliation has been on the decline for decades in America: chances are, the Scripture’s falling on deaf ears.
People don’t care that you’re Catholic or evangelical or whatever other theological term you have. They’re not convinced by your theological arguments—step outside your bubble and talk about things that they’re actually going to care about and resonate with. I know Christians who are very passionate about pro-life issues. I’m glad you’re Christian—I am too, and I hear your Bible verses. The people we need to convince don’t give a crap about your Bible verses.
We’re freaking people out, which takes us to…
3. Being weird about the dead baby pictures. I understand that it’s effective. I’m a journalist, which is to say I’m a storyteller: I get that pictures of aborted babies tell the stories that thousands of words can’t. However. Creating a visceral emotional reaction is something that we need to be incredibly careful with. In plain and simple terms: abortion is a very brutal procedure that involves surgically removing parts of human beings. There are going to be moments when showing the truth of that procedure is the only way to convince someone of the truth of the processes they support. It should not be the default for everyone. For the love, do not lead with this. There’s a time and a place for these things—it isn’t all the time and everywhere.
4. Being naive about the reality of post-Roe America. The fall of Dobbs, which I covered and consider an unforgettable part of American history, didn’t make all crisis pregnancy centers awesome places. It didn’t make rape and incest stop happening. It didn’t put an end to well-meaning and nobly-intentioned people being coerced into abortions. It didn’t stop babies from being born into horrifically abusive home situations. All of those are our reality. Not everyone who supports abortion does so from a place of deficient character. Not everyone who opposed abortion does so from a place of noble character. None of this has changed, and reality doesn’t fit into nice boxes. It is our responsibility to acknowledge this reality—first—before we start trying to convince anyone.
America is sharply divided on abortion, and we’re not in the majority. Winning hearts and minds—that tired phrase—starts with understanding hearts and minds, including the ones that hate us or simply have serious and well-thought-out reasons for disagreeing with us. If we can’t look at the people we seek to convince, and explain why they believe what they believe in a way that they would deem accurate, then we’re not ready as a movement to talk to half a nation of people who think that abortion is the way forward. But we have to face facts—that’s our nation.