Pro-life feminism in an age of political polarization

ANDREW toLU

“Religious, conservative, Republican.”

For many Americans, these are the first words that come to mind when describing those who are pro-life, a term used to denote someone who is against abortion.

Kristin Turner is the antithesis of the stereotypes associated with the pro-life movement she spends much of her life devoted to. A survivor of sexual abuse, a self-proclaimed feminist, a strong supporter of progressive ideals, an atheist, and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Turner is not what comes to mind when a pro-life activist is pictured.

Turner herself is currently the executive director of Pro-Life San Francisco, the founder of Take Feminism Back, and the communications director for The Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising.

“For me, feminism isn’t just about the equality of the sexes. It’s about how we analyze every single intersecting group that we are a part of, how that affects our everyday lives, and how that affects us on a systemic level,” Turner said. “When we talk about feminism, it’s not just white women and white men; it’s black women, it’s queer women, it’s women from all different identities, it’s gender non-conforming people, it’s people from all different backgrounds.”

Turner’s definition of feminism is known as intersectional feminism. Kimberlé Crenshaw, the woman who coined the term, described intersectional feminism in an interview with Time as “a prism for seeing the way in which various forms of inequality often operate together and exacerbate each other.”

Turner’s and many other pro-life feminists’ viewpoints on abortion come from the fact that, to them, the unborn are encompassed under their definition of intersectional feminism. To Turner, not advocating for all pregnancies to end in the birth of a child is not within her definition of feminism because she sees the unborn as a currently marginalized group that pro-choice advocates are continuing to repress.

“I think that being pro-choice is being antithetical to being a feminist in the same way I believe that being ableist is anti-feminist or that being anti-LGBTQ is anti-feminist. I believe those ideas do not coincide with each other. So while I think that they do great work on other issues, to holistically go through the world as a feminist, you have to be pro-life,” Turner said.

Many pro-life progressives, including Turner, also subscribe to the consistent life ethic as a belief system, or the idea that all life is precious. People following the consistent life ethic typically advocate for the ending of capital punishment, are against abortion, against euthanasia, and against unjust wars or wars in general.

For many, however, Turner’s views on abortion and her following of the consistent life ethic automatically make her unable to use the term “feminist” to identify herself.

“Being pro-choice is not being necessarily pro-abortion — it’s choice. So that means that if the right choice for someone is to continue a pregnancy, then that is their decision, but that not everyone is restricted by that belief, legally,” said Addison Gaitán, an English teacher at Carlmont and staunch pro-choice feminist. “So I think that it would be hard for me to say you could be pro-life and be a feminist because then you would be taking choice away from other women.”

One of the major issues that many pro-life feminists see is the demonization that occurs of people who do not conform to conventional beliefs, especially those that straddle the border between the two major American political parties.

“I think in liberal areas, there’s a lot of things that people think of as going along with being anti-abortion. If you’re anti-abortion, then [people often assume that] you’re probably also a racist, sexist, and really just conservative. I’m not any of those things,” said Janice Buckley*, a senior at Carlmont who identifies as both pro-life and a feminist.

Turner affirmed that the demonization of others is also present in conservative circles surrounding abortion rights.

“Pro-lifers, especially the ones I find that have some sort of faith in God, believe that [abortion is] an absolute evil, not even [just] the ideologies, but the people who believe [in increasing abortion access] are absolutely evil. That hurts because, as somebody who used to be pro-choice, I wasn’t an evil person; I just had different ideas,” Turner said.

This polarization, Turner feels, can oftentimes overshadow the goals that many people share.

“When we demonize people, and we make them seem horrible, completely evil, and it doesn’t help us. I think prolifers and pro-choicers are likely to realize that there’s a lot more that we agree on than we think we do,” Turner said.

What many pro-life and pro-choice advocates agree on is improving the options for women faced with unplanned pregnancies and changing the way abortion is discussed in the United States.

“A lot of the way that we talk about abortion in the United States is very reactionary, and it doesn’t look a lot at the root cause of why we have unwanted pregnancies, why the pregnancies happened, and why they are unwanted. Alleviating some of that fiscal burden on moms who become pregnant [is necessary],” Gaitán said.

Buckley echoed this point, demonstrating the fundamental agreement that many pro-life and pro-choice feminists have.

“I think that the solutions that are important to make to have a world without abortion feasible, are improving the foster care system a whole lot, making adoption easier, making resources for women who are pregnant [more accessible], having better childcare services, and having better opportunities for single parents,” Buckley said.

This polarization and lack of understanding of their commonalities often come from the fundamental disagreement of who’s autonomy is more important, that of the fetus or that of the individual carrying the fetus.

“I think that pregnancy is something that is very challenging and really deeply personal. And interestingly enough, being pregnant myself with a very wanted and planned child has made me even more pro-abortion access than I even thought I could be, just because it’s so mentally and physically challenging and definitely something that people should have a choice over,” Gaitán said.

While Gaitán sees terminating a pregnancy as a decision for an individual to make about a part of their body, Buckley* sees it as a decision to end the life of another being.

“I think the main difference in beliefs is often just like whether people see the fetus as part of the mother or not. And I’m not sure that’s a belief that can be easily changed either way, so I’m not sure if people will ever agree on this issue, but I do think that people are too polarized. We don’t need to be this polarized,” Buckley said.

As a whole, many feminists fear the consequences of the United States, where abortion is made illegal without addressing the lack of support for many pregnant women.

“I’m really scared going into this period where Roe v. Wade, [the Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal in the United States], could potentially be overturned because I feel like there isn’t enough out there, there’s not enough help… I wish that there was a better system for pregnant people in our country,” Turner said.

*This name was changed by the author to ensure anonymity for the source that was interviewed due to a fear of pushback for political beliefs, in accordance with Carlmont Media’s anonymous sourcing policy.

KAI yoSHIDA