Is it true that the anti-abortion side is “pro-life until you’re born?”
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in 2022, the pro-choice rhetoric seemed to escalate. Pro-lifers are accused of many things, such as not caring about women, denying “essential” healthcare through abortion access bans, or violating “reproductive rights.” One of the misperceptions spread by promoters of the culture of death is that pro-life and pro-family activists are hypocritical because their actions do not match their philosophy. They use this apparent hypocrisy to discount the entire pro-life cause.
There are dishonest and deceived people in the pro-life movement. This is inevitable in a movement of more than a million people. We have seen “pro-life” politicians repeatedly betray their constituents, “pro-life” political activists steal money from other activists, and “pro-life Christians” publicly lie to judges, commit adultery, and kill abortionists in the name of life.
Related: Is Abortion a Constitutional Right? The Legal Facts | HLI
Pro-Life Hypocrisy?
Despite all the human flaws, this does not mean that there is inherent hypocrisy in the pro-life movement. As we will see in the following sections, pro-lifers do support women and children, before and after birth.
It’s also important to note, even if the claims were true and pro-lifers only focused on life before birth, this does not intrinsically discount the pro-life movement. A movement is most effective when it is focused on a single problem. No one gets upset that the American Cancer Society is not working to end drunk driving, even though both cancer and drunk driving are prominent issues. This also does not mean that the American Cancer society does not care about the effects of drunk driving.
It simply means that one movement cannot possibly tackle each and every problem or work to eradicate all issues. The pro-life movement sees that children are being killed before they even have a chance to grow outside of the womb. All other problems in life – such as poverty, health problems, housing issues, food insecurity, financial issues, etc. – become secondary when children are not even given the chance to be born. To this end, the pro-life movement is focused on ensuring that human life is protected in its most vulnerable stage to begin with, before delving into the more detailed challenges of life.
However, pro-lifers also cannot hide behind these excuses to justify inaction. We must do what we can to support men, women, children, and families in need, from womb to tomb. As the following sections show, pro-lifers are incredibly generous with time, effort, and money in supporting mothers and children. While protecting life in the womb is paramount, helping mothers and families in need raise a child is also important.
That said, pro-lifers and conservatives do care about helping people, even after birth!
A 1996 study showed that conservatives gave an average of four times as much to charity as did liberals,1 and things have not changed since then. In his 2006 book Who Really Cares, Syracuse University professor Arthur Brooks said:
[Conservatives] gave more to every type of cause and charity: health charities, education organizations, international aid groups, and human welfare agencies. They even gave more to traditionally liberal causes, such as the environment and the arts.
And we see evidence of this even today.
How Pro-Lifers Care for People After Birth – Even with Abortion Bans
The driving force behind pregnancy centers is the pro-life movement. These centers – which are condemned and ridiculed by abortion supporters – provide free help for mothers and families, enabling low-income individuals to be able to support their loved ones.
Women can get free car seats, diapers, clothes, psychological counseling, and other necessary resources to support her new baby. She can also obtain free pregnancy tests, STD testing, and ultrasounds. Some centers will give the mother a list of resources for housing, transportation, or food insecurity. Often, they’ll help mothers find a job or attend parenting and birthing classes. If the woman chooses adoption for her baby, pregnancy centers will provide adoption resources.
If a woman has already taken the first abortion pill and regrets her decision, pregnancy centers will help her find a medical professional who can prescribe abortion pill reversal. These centers also offer post-abortive counseling to women who are experiencing trauma. Moreover, the care that pregnancy centers provide is available to any pregnancy woman, whether or not she’s considering an abortion.
Pregnancy centers have given over $350 million in care to women and families in just the past year. And yet, the great help and assistance they give to low-income women and families is dismissed by the popular media. Many pro-abortion activists even call for these centers to be closed, claiming they violate women’s “rights.”
Religious groups also express their native generosity in many other ways. The Roman Catholic church operates 26% of all health care facilities in the entire world, including 117,000 hospitals, clinics and orphanages, 18,000 pharmacies and 512 centers for the care of those with leprosy. This includes 911 hospitals and health care facilities and 418 orphanages in the United States.2
While some say that Catholic hospitals deny “essential” healthcare (abortion) to women, there is nothing essential about killing one’s own children or forcing such hospitals to allow abortions. Forcing Catholic hospitals to provide abortions denies the freedom of religion.
The Lutheran Church, the Jewish faith, and others have also founded hundreds of other hospitals in the United States, although many do not continue to operate under religious principles. But when was the last time you saw a hospital named something like the “Cincinnati Atheist and Agnostic Health Care System?”
There is also evidence that pro-abortion organizations routinely ignore women after abortion. Planned Parenthood’s website admits that follow-up care is not routinely done after an abortion. They are happy to have the woman come back from contraception and STI screening. However, the lack of post-abortion follow-up care treats abortion as if it were a simple procedure with no negative consequences for the woman.
Women who find themselves struggling after abortion (a horrific and traumatizing event) are left alone. Lack of scheduled follow-up care puts the burden on the woman to reach out when she needs assistance. Ignoring or denying the reality of post-abortion stress syndrome does nothing but hurt women experiencing grief, anxiety, and depression after an abortion. It seems that those doctors care simply about getting their money from an abortion and assume that their patients will thrive afterwards.
We can see how the pro-life cause, though dedicated to protecting life in the womb, also gives generously to ensure women have the resources they need after a child’s birth. Meanwhile, the pro-abortion movement ignores a woman’s struggles after making money off of her abortion. While surely imperfect, as all human efforts are, the pro-life movement truly seeks to give families the tools and resources they need to thrive before and after birth.
This article was originally published in May 2017 by Dr. Brian Clowes and was most recently updated in November 2024 by Marisa Cantu.
+ Endnotes
[1] 1996 General Social Survey (GSS) by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC), described in Jeff Jacoby. “Stingy Liberals.” Town Hall, August 22, 2012.
[2] “Catholic Hospitals Comprise One-Quarter of World’s Healthcare, Council Reports.” Catholic News Association, February 10, 2010. J. Kenedy & Sons Official Catholic Directory, 2011.
Related Content
Dr. Brian Clowes has been HLI’s director of research since 1995 and is one of the most accomplished and respected intellectuals in the international pro-life movement. Best known as author of the most exhaustive pro-life informational resource volume The Facts of Life, and for his Pro-Life Basic Training Course, Brian is the author of nine books and over 500 scholarly and popular articles, and has traveled to 70 countries on six continents as a pro-life speaker, educator and trainer.
Marisa Cantu has a master's in political science and international affairs and a bachelor's in political science. She has also studied international studies and French. She has a strong background in nonprofit work, research, writing, and policy proposal and analysis.
If ‘pro-lifers’ (the name already implies you are the only people who care about all life) were not so judgemental, you would meet pregnant mothers where they ARE, not where they “should be” according to religious or other standards. They aren’t married, they made some less than responsible choices, were coerced/assaulted, wanted a child and changed their mind, forgot birth control… whatever the case, meet them where they are. Mandate full disclosure of all options, with the inclusion of local resources such as the CPCs should they (most likely, more on this later) choose life, government funding for childcare for mothers who work or attend school, special additional funding for single mothers, financial incentives to have children. You have been tirelessly working on all of these things, yes? For the sake of LIFE, all of this and more is within reach, and whatever of this is already being done, DO MORE. This is about future lives. No limits.
Obviously, when the life of the mother is in immediate danger beyond the weighing of options, that can be an exception. Otherwise, I would not stop at full disclosure mandates. If you are really serious about advocating for the lives of the unborn, merely mandating disclosure of all options by every practitioner, whether at PP, a CPC, at their regular PCP, is only a start. Why not then require a certain time period for the patient to consider all of such options after first pregnancy encounter, providing some kind of proof via assessment they have done so, limited of course by what stage of pregnancy they are in (or not, putting responsibility on the patient to seek care in a timely manner if they INITIALLY wish to have an abortion).
Once we are used to an environment where one can’t expect an immediate abortion, not even at PP, it would be reasonable to implement a requred class the patient receives government support and required time off work and/or school to attend, before being prescribed or scheduled for abortion treatment if they still unfortunately choose it.
With effective and thorough education backed by enough resources and incentives to follow through on motherhood, the few who still decline will do so with full understanding, not only of the moral implications, but also the medical and long-term psychological risks of their decisions.
Yes, the decision here is still on the mother, but do you have any idea how many more LIVES would be saved if you approached abortion legislation differently? Nevermind the fact I’d rather have a parent that wanted me, or was eventually persuaded to make her OWN decision to have me if I was unplanned, or worse.
When people are both fully informed of all options and given immense resources for what most of us really do hope for that unborn child, I believe you will be empowering mothers themselves against abortion a whole lot more effectively than the government making choices for them. The number of abortion-related deaths, of mostly the unborn but also of mothers, will decrease dramatically. The power of informed choices and the resources to realistically have those choices should not be underestimated. Future lives depend on us grasping that concept.
Never Said Goodbye
You never even said hello,
You just simply let me go.
Sadder than a sea of tears,
Could have taken away all your fears.
Never blessed with a name,
Discarded in a bucket of shame.
Not even a tiny coffin for my broken heart,
A place for every little body part.
You will always be my mother,
Would have loved you like no other.
Before my play got off the ground,
You brought the curtain down.
As I was asking why.
A tear fell from my eye.
All I ever did was die,
You never even said goodbye.
Blood on a Shoe
Abortion is not about health care,
It is about death, discrimination, and despair.
With every abortion a living child we defile,
Executed without judge, jury or trial.
On unborn children we need to call a truce,
Abortion is the ultimate child abuse.
Ending abortion may save our nation,
The civil rights movement of our generation.
Abortion is the current American civil war,
Americans killing Americans like never before.
Tear down the walls for all to see,
The decimation of children, how can it be.
Abortion clinics are not a mystery,
The most prolific child killing machines in American history.
An abortion doctor came into view,
All I saw was blood on her shoe.
This is obviously biased and particularly around the statement about liberals giving to charity to make statements…. That is absolutely LAUGHABLE and hypocritical
I asked my devout aunt who is a Catholic how the church can prioritize fertilized cells over a living breathing woman and she said she didn’t know. That she doesn’t think fertilized cells are more important than living, breathing women.
Catholic based healthcare denies women some medical care based on religious doctrine. Medical care should be provided based on science and medical need. Whether or not conservatives give more than liberals is beside the point. The GOP consistently votes against programs that help the poor, vote against childcare, vote against medical insurance expansion (Medicaid) for low income people etc.
The United States is filled with diverse groups of people who are a multitude of religions no more of less important than Christianity.
Millions of us do not subscribe to your personal religious beliefs and should not be subject to laws based on religion.
Separation of church and state forever!
TM, great question. So called “abortion rights” is not primarily a matter of personal religious belief. Science shows that human life begins at conception; religion is not needed for that. Open any modern biology text. Natural law, and many laws of the state, confirm that it’s wrong to end an innocent human life. Science says that even in the first hours of life after sperm meets egg, a human life has begun, genetically unique from his parents, and he will continue to grow and develop; it’s exactly how you and I began. As to the various social concerns you’ve raised, the Catholic position recognizes the inherent dignity of every human person no matter one’s religious belief and advocates for both mother and child, for the good of families, which are the backbone of civilization, and for the common good generally. Permit me to ask an opposing question: Why prioritize a living breathing woman over her daughter who, if not snuffed out in the womb, will also grow to be a living breathing woman? That’s not religion; that’s a scientific fact.
I agree with this logical thinking. It’s logical to believe life begins at conception and ending this life is murder. The problem with abortion is it’s a very complicated, personal issue. Logical thinking must also include what is the “state of life” of this human. If you equate an embryo as being the same as a baby then you must equate any life as being sacred and ending any life would be murder. When a person is on life-support and possibly “brain dead”, they are in another state of life. They are still alive, heart pumping, lungs breathing and in your logic, ending that life would be murder. But our society gives the hard choice to end that life to the closest relative; father, mother, siblings etc. This is not murder. That same logic must then be used for giving a woman the right to make the same hard choice of ending the life of the unborn embryo. It’s not black and white. Just like end of life choices, the thinking process must include the “state of life” that person is in, there should be limits on how much the fetus has developed and prohibit late-term abortions at a set term that is decided by society. If we are allowed to “pull-the-plug” on a long-term comatose or brain-dead human being without knowing for sure if by some miracle they might fully recover and lead to a longer, more productive healthy life, that same logic must include the choice to end an embryo’s life not knowing what kind of possible life it might have. It is a very hard choice. A choice that should be left up to the mother or if not possible, the next of kin. Your religious beliefs are also your choice and should not be forced on others.
Scott, Ending the life of an innocent child growing in his mother’s womb is black and white. He is not his mother. He is not his father. He is a third human being, with his own unique DNA and inherent dignity, no matter his stage of development. The time for “choice” is before sexual intercourse. A child should not have to die because his parents don’t want to take responsibility for their actions or we deem his particular life isn’t worth living (the Nazis did that). Life is sacred at all of its stages, from womb to tomb – embryo, toddler, teen, middle age, elderly. It is wrong to intentionally end innocent life at any stage. If a person is dying, he is not required to accept extraordinary means to extend life (life support), and the decision to stop such support simply allows life to take its natural course. A child growing in his mother’s womb – that’s not extraordinary care, it’s ordinary care, it’s the way each one of us started our own lives. With abortion his life is ended – intentionally and before its natural end – he might die by lethal injection, he could be pulled apart limb by limb, or he could even be born alive, partially, and then killed.
exactly well said TM!
Every abortion kills a living child.
My grandmother just delivered the 10th of her children to make it to adulthood. There were too many mouths to feed on my grandfather’s paycheck. The older kids dropped out of school to help put food on the table. Grandma went to the parish church for some food. My grandmother held my uncle in her arms and my mom came with to help carry whatever they rec’d home. My grandmother was turned away empty handed. Father at the door refused to help and told Grandma to get a job. A few months later, the kids found Grandma dead on the floor at 41 years old and at least 10 kids; God only knows how many of my aunts and uncles she miscarried. Mom always told us never to go to the private sector when you hit a rough spot b/c you won’t get any help. She told us that when we were on hard times, the government would be there to help. Mom talked from experience.
Religious states are lead in charity donations only if you count tithing as charity. I’m sorry to sound harsh but making Kenneth Copeland even more rich is not the same as being charitable.
Fertility rates are also nothing to be particularly proud of. The countries with the highest fertility rates are Niger, Somalia and Congo.
Pro life is a valid stance on the subject but you’ve chosen some weird things to be proud of.
Let’s encourage life. Banning guns or abortion rarely stops it. But the gun buyback program works, Romney wants one to get a stimulus check for a child prorated four months before birth. Let’s find ways of making choosing life more attractive
I just saw a pro-lifer refer to Hispanics as bottom-feeders. If we Christians value human life, we would value every life including the refugees. Many of my pro-lifer friends hated the Black Lives Matter movement. I, confused. I thought every life was precious? So why would they not be marching with us?
Susan, thank you for the input. As an international Catholic apostolate, HLI works tirelessly with and for people of all nationalities and cultural backgrounds. We have strong outreach and affiliates working throughout Central and South America, and do not condone such a reference. Likewise, every black life, like every other life, is precious and must be respected and protected. The Black Lives Matter movement demands justice but does not seem interested in saving unborn black lives. Sadly, in this country the injustice of abortion is more prevalent among African American women than any other population group. Many Planned Parenthood’s surgical abortion facilities are within walking distance of minority communities. Why the silence? Why not protest the killing of so many black babies? Black lives certainly do matter. All of them. Born and unborn.
Well said, I also find it interesting that the author of the article focuses exclusively on the fact that personal donations drive the “caring nature for those already born” while he completely ignores and sidelines the conservative opposition to welfare which is what these poor teenage mothers who are forced to have their babies will ultimately overwhelmingly rely on.
Its the height of hypocrisy for a government to force children who have experimented with sex to have a baby and then for that same government to say they will have to depend on the kindness of private individuals to actually take care of that baby.
The reason abortion is legal in the U.S. is not because the devil is sitting on the supreme court but its because the pro-life argument is full of hypocrisy.
I taught at a Catholic school for some time. When one of our former students visited the faculty room to show off her beautiful baby, most of the faculty gathered around to admire the baby and to share In the mother’s joy and excitement. Our celebration of this mother and child was not affected by the fact that the mother was unmarried.
Two senior theology teachers stopped at the door, turned and left abruptly. As they walked away, I heard one say to the other, “I cannot condone that sin by acknowledging that slut, nor will I acknowledge the existence of her bastard.” Her companion smiled and agreed.
I was shocked and horrified. This was in 2002! They were the “well-respected” lead theology teachers! They led our students to “Right to Life” marches in Washington DC. Our teaching contracts required all teachers to support the teachings of the Church….and these women were the representatives of the Church!
When elders of the church, the ones we trust to instruct our young people, sound like the horrible nuns in the Irish Mother and Baby Homes of last century, it bodes ill for the young women who give birth to their unplanned babies. Both mother and child can look forward to relentless and endless condemnation from these “respected elders of the Church.”
That totally unexpected experience really made me reevaluate my opinion of the Church. Perhaps people have concerns with the motives of some “pro-lifers” because some representatives of the Church choose to be so harshly judgmental.
Pro life should be applied to both the unborn and the living. We condone government control of abortion while we refuse to support governmental aid to prevent the over 70,000 unnecessary deaths and stop the suffering brought on to millions because the victims can’t afford medical care. We who are Christian must think that God declares a baby due in four months more precious than one four months old.
Thanks for writing. Yes, life from conception till natural death is critical. All life matters. But there is a hierarchy to be considered. An abortion victim is murdered; his heart is injected to stop the heartbeat and he is dismembered, often in excruciating pain. Someone who goes to the hospital with an emergency in the United States is required to be given treatment, and certainly not killed or tortured while alive. But the Church has advocated for caring for the sick since its inception. Just last month the USCCB advocated for more federal money for health care and provides its own health care as well the world over. http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/health-care/letter-to-senate-on-replacement-for-affordable-care-act-2017-09-21.cfm
I’m curious how a fetus can feel horrible pain when his heart has already stopped and he is no longer alive. I didn’t know dead embryos felt pain….
Even the state recognizes and mitigates the pain associated with death by lethal injection for those who have received the death penalty.
As many are pointing out currently after the latest mass shooting, where is the care for children with a position that wants to control womens bodies and force them to give birth even in cases of rape, and supports the gun industry? The current bizarre position the so called conservative political group is: force women to have babies, have zero accountability for men, support gun rights and make no effort to stem the tide of the horrible mass shootings, support corporate greed, support the restriction of the earth. There is no connection with the capitalist Christian position in our country with Christ. It is somewhat congruent with the history of the Roman Catholic Church which was a political institution that continued the power structure of the Roman Empire and consistent with an institution that hid the abuses of child molestors. I’m not here to attack the Catholic Church or Christians in gerneral, just a reality check. I knew real Christians who cared about the teachings of Christ, about love and compassion. Where are those ChristiAns today? This current strange political so called Christians helped vote in an obviously sinful man as President, who clearly has no Interest in the teachings of Christ, yet shamelessly used the Christian Right wing movement for his own ends. Strange upside world.
Yours is a common argument, Forrest, that pro-lifers only care for unborn babies until they’re born, and it’s just not true. A Christian, trying to live the example and teachings of Christ, honors and cares for all of God’s people, in all stages of life, from conception to natural death. This short video explains how pro-lifers care about life after birth: https://youtu.be/F5SCKlNOTq8.
Not all Christians live up to Christ’s standard, including the small number of priests in the Catholic Church who molested their altar boys and those in the hierarchy who covered it up, but this doesn’t change the truth of Christ’s teaching and our responsibility to follow Him and to “love our neighbor”.
I do not know where the idea that pro-lifers discontinue to care about the babies after birth comes from, but I imagine it is the devil, the father of lies.
My wife and I have joined in the spiritual adoption program over the years and have not ceased to pray for these children we have spiritually adopted using the formula (adjusted for born children) given by the Venerable Fulton J. Sheen. We pray for them by name (one name which is actually known) twice each day, once after our daily Rosary and once before we go to sleep. We also have financially adopted two children from Latin America. We married late in life so we have no children of our own but prior lived lives of service to the Church as single Catholics.
A second comment is over the well-funded gay movement. I went with my wife to a conference in San Francisco and it just so happened that there was a gay pride festival there which I did not know about. I was appalled to see people walking around naked but for some body paint and little children with glassy eyes indicative of drug intoxication and crowds of young people who displayed symptoms of cannabis intoxication.
I helped three gay men in their last days with Mother Theresa’s sisters and sat with them, fed them, bathed them and chatted with them and even learned from them and loved them as though they were my own brothers. I recall that none of their friends ever visited them. I do not have a high opinion of the gay movement and its canonization of immoral and self-centered behaviors.
Thank you for your witness, Gerry. Your life affirming compassion of the unborn, the young, and the dying bears out the statistics that pro-lifers are generous and care deeply for people from womb to tomb.
This statement is not true. You have no idea the amount of people who stand up for the preborn and their moms. There is follow up for those who need it and those who can help. Each of us even in prayer can adopt in prayer those who are in need. We do it for our own families. We do it for families they do not even know. The Red Cross helps those they do not know, etc. We each play a part in each others lives.
The reason people think pro lifers don’t care about the already born is because people are more likely to adopt babies rather than older kids. Right now there are nearly 500k kids that need families. If you want people to believe you are truly pro life you have to change. Promote adoption of kids of all ages, and not focus single mindedly on the unborn.
Thanks for your comment. Actually, we are a Catholic apostolate and our particular mission is 5-fold, all pro-life issues. So HLI by nature of our mission statement focuses on them. But you are right about adoption needing more attention. Adoption and foster care is available through Catholic Charities and normally is in every diocese. HOWEVER, if you have seen on our Facebook page, we have actually published articles on the challenges there. Cities like Philadelphia to the state of Michigan are attacking Christian principles and Catholic agencies will not adopt out to same sex couples. This violates freedom of religion, but is also short-sighted, since they provide the majority of placements in many cases. In other states, Catholic agencies are shutting down, because we cannot consort with evil. This writer’s mother was a social worker with Catholic Charities was placing babies for adoption in the 1960s! So the work is by no means new – nuns, etc. have run orphanages for centuries.
Education and nutrition are what get children out of poverty. This article is sickening; precisely what ”anti-lifers” are ridiculing the church. It’s as if the author doesn’t know that we, the people, fund the government. Why would you send a message to girls that their only hope to escape poverty is through traditional marriage rather than encourage and enable opportunities for them to thrive on their own two feet in this world?
Thank you for sharing this article. However, we must say it addressed a plethora of issues, not all of which can be answered without writing a similarly long article. The “seamless garment” issue is a non-starter. We realize there are conflicting signals the public receives from churches, etc. but the bottom line is, murder trumps the environment, or migration, or any other issue. No where else but the main life issues affecting life from conception to natural death as stated in our mission statement would be the most on point. The author of the article you cite states as much.
You seem to also address what the pro-abortion side likes to call the “pro-birth” issues. Yes, we believe in the baby being born, not being killed. Every diocese in the world works with Catholic adoption agencies who can place these children in good homes and see that they are cared for…though it is worth mentioning a few states in the United States where anti-Catholic bigotry has forced Catholic foster care to shut down, based on not being willing to place children with same-sex situations. This writer’s mother worked for many, many years placing babies in adoption … until abortion was legalized and most of the babies “disappeared” overnight. So yes, there are resources.
Our founder, Fr. Karl Marx, was called “the Apostle of Life” by Pope Saint John Paul II, who said Human Life International was “doing the most important work on earth.” You bet we’re pro-life. John Paul II is good enough for us.
Happy Easter.
If you hold that the movement called “pro-life” really means caring for children and their mothers after they’re born as well as preventing abortion can you please answer for this?
https://catholicvote.org/why-im-through-being-pro-life/
Please read not only the article but the comments. You have many many people in your midst who only believe in preventing women from terminating pregnancy but they say that they are pro-life. I can cite for you many more comments from Facebook on the recent fetal heartbeat bills stories reported.