It used to be easy to know who one’s friends and allies were. If one was an atheist, they were left-wing liberals and pro-choice. Christians were of course right-wing conservatives, and all opponents of abortion followed the pope and practiced the rhythm method. Gays and lesbians were of course allies of the pro-choice movement and everyone stayed in their own corner of the political arena.
Not any longer.
Yes, atheists can be pro-life. Yes, there are a surprising number of pro-life gays and lesbians. And yes, it’s entirely possible to have premarital sex, support contraception, and yet oppose the killing of prenatal human beings. What ever is this world coming to?
Pro-Life Humanists are a united group of atheists, agnostics, non-religious, anti-theist, and even a small but tolerable smattering of religious folk who opt to keep religion out of social justice issues like abortion (we like them just fine – even if some of us like to think of them as atheists in denial 😉 )
Lines are blurring and it appears many ideologies are slowly coming together on what unites us, to work as allies rather than opponents. We look forward to an increase in productive dialog among those who have too long spoken past one another. As Pro-Life Humanists launches our blog and website, please allow me to introduce some of our friends and allies whom you will be meeting in greater depth in the upcoming weeks and months:
Feminists for Life: A secular, pro-woman, pro-child site, this group seeks to elevate and advance woman so that they are not put into a position in which they feel forced to choose abortion because no better options exist. Their blueprint for pregnancy and maternal options on a university campus is a truly inspiring resource begs to be implemented on every university campus, whether one supports the choice of abortion or not. Among their most powerful spokespersons are women who conceived in rape and women who were conceived through rape.
Consistent Life: I love these people! They oppose all forms of sanctioned violence toward human beings and work to build bridges with those fighting the fights against war, abortion, poverty, racism, capital punishment and euthanasia. While many of their active members and leaders identify as Catholic, their solely secular approach to social issues and their solid opposition to all forms of human violence cause us to give them a thumbs up.
Life Matters Journal: This quarterly publication showcases the best writers and philosophers of the consistent life ethic. We at PLH recommend you subscribe and stretch your pro-life horizons. And we’re not being paid to say so 🙂
Secular Pro-Life: SPL shares the heart and vision of Pro-Life Humanists and since 2009, has been a welcoming home to pro-life atheists and religious pro-lifers with a secular approach to activism. Although we have slightly different vision and we do part ways on the matter of whether or not to have a rape exception (PLH opposes prenatal violence regardless of how one was conceived), our members and leaders work closely with one another and even sit in at each other’s conference tables. Expect to see guest blogs from these awesome folk in the future.
Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians (PLAGAL): The GLBT case against abortion is fascinating and we can’t wait to have these awesome folk guest blog as well. “None of us is truly free until all of us are free, with all our rights intact and guaranteed, including the basic right to live without threat or harassment. And that’s why we’re Pro-Life. Just like homophobia, abortion tries to get rid of real human beings who are considered threatening or undesirable. Just like homophobia, abortion denies one’s place as a member of human society, and even one’s right to be alive in it.”
There are of course many other atheist and secular websites and communities out there who take a stand against abortion, including a myriad of Facebook communities that have cropped up in recent years, but I’ll leave you with these five for now. Welcome to our unconventional family! We’re forever changing the face of atheism and the face of the pro-life movement; hopefully for the betterment of both.
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