“The Future of the Pro-Life Movement”: Ruth Graham

“The Future of the Pro-Life Movement”: Ruth Graham October 25, 2016

with a moving piece at Slate. I would I guess add the cautionary note that somebody has written this piece once a year since I became pro-life. (I even sort of wrote one!) This iteration would’ve been strengthened, I think, by some historical context. Talk to Feminists for Life, for example; people have been approaching abortion as a peace/justice issue for a long time, and they might have insights on why this approach still seems novel. Anyway, though, the stories here are quite powerful, and I’m glad this piece got written.

…Murphy was a pro-choice 16-year-old in California when an abusive, on-off boyfriend raped her. When the rape resulted in a pregnancy scare, Murphy’s rapist wanted her to get an abortion, and threatened to kill her and himself if she didn’t. A decade later, she still chokes up when she talks about that time in her life. But the threat was also clarifying. “In that moment, something clicked,” she said. “I could not use violence to get what I wanted in life. I realized that if I were to get an abortion, I would just be passing oppression on to a child.”

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