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Sarah Terzo and the challenge of being a pro-life atheist

If you missed it, I recommend you read Sarah Terzo's cri de coeur about the frustration she faces as someone who is a pro-life atheist. Her experiences confirm that the American pro-life movement is overwhelmingly Christian in orientation. While many non-Christians, atheists, or agnostics likely self-identify as pro-life, my impression is that the activists largely approach reproductive politics as an outgrowth of their Christian faith and theology.

Ms. Terzo publishes an absorbing blog, ClinicQuotes, that focuses on the stories and statements of people who have changed from being pro-choice to pro-life. As far as I can tell, her body of work and her methods of activism betray nothing that would make her undesirable as a pro-life ally.

Recently Ms. Terzo contacted several 'crisis pregnancy centers' to ask if they would let an atheist volunteer at their center, and they were pretty clear in rejecting her offer of help. I get the impression that she was doing this to confirm what she already knew and had experienced.

Interestingly, Ms. Terzo is a regular contributor to Live Action News, which is the online news site for Live Action (the famous-infamous organization run by Lila Rose that produces creatively-edited 'sting' documentaries about abortion clinics). By publishing Ms. Terzo's column, they have shown a catholicity that other pro-life activists have not.

Links:

Op-ed in Live Action News (August 1, 2013): On being a pro-life atheist

Sarah Terzo's ClinicQuotes blog

Homepage for Secular Pro-Life, a group for non-Christian pro-life activists. Their web site is worth its own look (if nothing else, to see how their policy vision differs from, say, the policy vision of the Catholic Church)
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