So last week, I posted about a group that is part of the pro-life movement but doesn't get much attention from the media and the general public which has created a very stereotypical "pro-life" supporter that I described in my previous post. To continue shedding light on pro-life groups that are often swept under the rug, today I am going to share some thoughts on the Secular Pro-Life movement because, one, I don't think it gets the attention it truly deserves, and two, because I think this part of the pro-life movement is essential to creating a "pro-life" culture. As stated on their website: "Secular Pro-Life is a group for pro-life atheists, agnostics, humanists--any pro-life secularists. Part of our mission is to create a space for non-religious pro-lifers to gather and discuss our perspective on abortion within the context of our secularism." To me, this group seems particularly important. I think that many people who are not involved in the pro-life movement use the "it's because of their religion that they're pro-life and that's a separation between church and state issue" as a means to shut up the pro-life movement. Monica Snyder is a pro-life atheist and I think she makes a very good point against the opposition's attacks stating that the Pro-Life Movement is based on religion. Here I would just like to insert a personal aside. I am not pro-life because of my religion, I am pro-life because of my morals. My morals may be fundamentally aligned with my religion but it is not because of a religious doctrine that I am pro-life. There are many non-religious pro-life people just like there are many religious pro-abortion people. While Secular Prolife hasn't made a huge impression on the general public, I think that within the pro-life movement, this group is really making a difference and changing hearts one heart at a time. If you would like to to learn more about Secular Prolife, check out the link below and please enjoy a few videos that I've shared from them!
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There's kind of a stereotype for the people who support the pro-life movement: Catholic/Christian, middle class, white, etc. And yes, I definitely fit that criteria. However, these next few posts are to show the diversity of the movement and shed some light on groups within the pro-life movement that are ignored by the media and overlooked by the general public. This weeks group is PLAGAL, or the Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians. PLAGAL began in 1990 as local groups in both Washington DC and Minneapolis, MN (shout out to my favorite state). The movement began as "Gays Against Abortion," but the name was changed in 1991 to the name it has today with a more positive tone and includes a larger community. The group participates in annual marches including the March for Life and Pride Marches. Photo Credit to PLAGAL.org: Picture Gallery The group said that "Our membership includes women and men of various sexual orientations, political affiliations, and geographic locations-- all committed to raising awareness of the pro-life ethic as consistent with the gay and lesbian struggle for human rights." So basically, PLAGAL believes that fighting for the rights of unborn children is consistent with their battle for equality. They say that "human rights begin when human life begins." They fight for both the rights of the unborn and equal rights for gays and lesbians. I find this group very interesting and inspiring. They are already fighting an uphill battle themselves yet they are willing to take on another very hot button issue because they are firm in the belief of protecting life and promoting human rights. The Vice President of PLAGAL, Tim Cravens asked "How can we fight for the humanity of those within the LGBT community while ignoring the humanity of the unborn child? As members of the LGBT community, we know all too well what it is like to be considered less than human. We know what it is like to be unwanted. It is a false belief that if we support a woman's so-call "right to choose," we are securing the rights of those within the LGBT community." It is really interesting to see the parallels between the two movements and amazing to see this community come together so passionately to participate in the pro-life movement. What do you think of this group? Do you agree with their logic? Please share your comments below! I hope you enjoyed this post! Get ready for another exciting post next weekend! If you would like more information on PLAGAL, check out their website:
2/11/2017 1 Comment Clarifying my Pro-life Values Since I made my blog, I have been getting a lot of great feedback. It has been refreshing to hear a lot of my peers voice that they have similar perspectives on the life issue. However, I have also received some confusion concerning my very first post that I hope to clear up in this post before I dive any further into specific issues. In my first blog post, I said at the end of my post that "I'm not here to say the government should decide your fate but instead I am here to encourage young women to choose life." To clarify, I am going to begin with saying that the issue of abortion is very complicated and is deeply woven into our society. It encompasses so many different facets of social issues including: maternity leave, child care, women's health, and more. What I was trying to say in my first post was that for me personally, changing laws to prevent abortion is only half the battle of winning the pro-life movement. The other portion is creating a culture where choosing life is always the more appealing option. I want to change hearts not laws. I think laws should be made to protect our most vulnerable in society but I think that on a grassroots level, we need to inform people about the reality of abortion and continue to improve child-care in our country. Like I said before, we should create laws to protect the unborn but it shouldn't start and end there. Simultaneously we need to create a culture that favors life. I hope that this clarified things and I welcome any comments and questions below. Thanks so much for tuning in this week! There will be more to come soon! 2/5/2017 2 Comments Different PerspectivesAfter marching in the march for life, many criticisms surrounding the diversity of the movement arose from several news sources. Some accusing only Catholic students from catholic schools being bused in from across the country for the event. Although many religious people are very involved in the Pro-Life movement, there are minority groups that also support the movement that just aren't as widely recognized by the media. After doing some research, three groups really stood out to me. The first group was PLAGAL or the Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians. The second group, the Atheist and Agnostic Pro-Life League. And the third, Secular Pro-Life. There were a couple of comments last time about including non-religious arguments for pro-life and I think these three organizations are perfect examples of those who might not believe in a divine being but still hold firm pro-life beliefs. The pro-life movement is not a religious movement. The pro-life movement is a human rights movement. There are many religious people that support this cause but it is not because it is found in the bible or because their priest or pastor told them to do so. As a religious person myself, I can say that I am pro-life because I think it is a violation of human rights to kill an unborn child, and many others feel this way as well. I am not going to dive into each of these organizations in this post but I will do separate posts on each of the three listed above in the coming weeks. In the meantime, please enjoy the following videos to gain a little perspective on the diverse perspectives of the pro-life movement. |
AuthorI am a sophomore at GWU, originally from Northern Minnesota, studying International Affairs and Journalism. This is a blog for my social media class and I really hope you enjoy my perspective as a pro-life millennial. Archives
April 2017
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