The Pro-Life Movement’s Achilles’ Heel
Last year’s Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was monumental. But throwing the abortion issue back to the states has not turned out to be the boon the pro-life movement hoped it would be. When the euphoria wore off, the difficulties of passing laws to defend unborn babies at the state level became increasingly apparent.
These difficulties seemed to catch pro-lifers off-guard. In states like Kansas and Kentucky, both with pro-life majorities, pro-abortion activists were able to retain and even expand access to legal abortion. Next month, new ballot initiatives in Ohio and Maryland show the pro-abortion lobby is pressing its advantage.
Some of the pro-abortion ballot initiatives’ success can be attributed to clever media campaigns fueled with funds from national organizations that profit from legalized abortion like Planned Parenthood. These groups spun the overturning of Roe as a catastrophe for women’s health and autonomy. But the so-called catastrophe never happened. In fact, as a recent New York Times article noted, the number of abortions may have even increased. The pro-life movement is still struggling to pass laws to protect unborn life, even in socially conservative states.
Why?
One possibility is the often unrecognized and underappreciated connection between artificial contraception and abortion. The line between artificial contraception and abortion is obscured in practice. Some contraceptives can act as abortifacients, often unbeknownst to the users. But the connection between them is not just functionary. It has profound consequences for individuals and society both. One of these consequences is a gradually increasing toleration and acceptance of abortion.
In his encyclical, Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI pointed out the relationship between contraception and other moral issues. He explained that the widespread use of artificial contraception “could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards.”
