Sorry, Liberals, but Threats of Abortion Bans Don’t Phase Many Conservatives
By Aldene Zeno, MD
I was at a retreat having lunch at the Christian Medical Student Association circa 2012. I was a medical student at Loyola Chicago, and I believe there were other schools there besides mine. Another student was chatting next to me to one of the faculty. “It should be legal for someone to kill abortion providers,” said the student.
Chuckling, the faculty responded, “Yeah, but we can’t really do that can we?”
“You’re right,” the student said, “And I’m joking, but if you think about it, it makes sense.”
I politely smiled and averted my eyes, because at that age I had a lot more residual church shame. Plus, I didn’t yet have my experience as an abortion provider, which I acquired over the following 8 years. Even though there’s only one unforgivable sin in Christianity (Mark 3:28–30), you would think there were at least three unforgivable sins according to how the church treats these issues (and the people aligned with them): abortion, homosexuality, and fornication.
Listening to this student and faculty member chat, I was screaming on the inside. I knew people who’d had abortions, including people in my own family. And this student, a future physician, was advocating killing other physicians to a faculty member who seemed un-phased. I was shocked. I think this was a major influence on me doing a family planning externship later that summer with Medical Students for Choice.
Thankfully, in my experience, most Christians do not condone killing (I mean, it is a “Thou shalt not…” in the Ten Commandments). Most of the Christians I grew up with would not go so far as to advocate killing anyone to “avenge” an abortion. On the other hand, I grew up with the kind of Christians that tend to vote Republican or otherwise conservatively because of those politicians’ anti-abortion stances. I have friends and family that overlooked former President Trump’s un-Christian language and behavior because of his anti-choice politics.
Fast forward 10 years from that med student conference, and I’m talking to a family member who says, “Maybe these abortion bans could be good.” This was in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, effectively allowing states to enact their own laws to limit or potentially ban access to abortion care. Weeks after that, I tried an offhand comment with a coworker, to see what they thought about all of the rhetoric around the recent changes to abortion law. I had no idea of her political persuasion, so I thought she’d be a neutral temperature check on average Americans with this issue. I asked, “Do you think all of this talk about abortion stuff will change voters’ views?” “Not at all,” she responded.
Liberals seem to think that abortion bans will shock voters into changing
It’s local election season here in the Los Angeles area, and I keep seeing and hearing political ads that I don’t think will have the intended effect. For example, take Katie Porter, first democratic congress person in modern history in Orange County. She sees the anti-choice movement as being against OC “values,” because it impinges on voters’ “freedom and respect for others” in this interview.
Unfortunately, based on the conservative folk I grew up with, they would likely argue that the current focus on abortion laws distract voters from “real” issues (as if family planning doesn’t affect all families), like the economy, inflation, or community safety. Ironically, these same conservatives will admit to being single-issue voters, and that they support their politicians because of their anti-abortion views. The notion that restrictive abortion laws will be off-putting to these people is a big misconception.
Religious and political conservatism is growing among minority racial groups
Additionally, abortion law might not be a priority for many people of color. Liberal politicians have long relied on majority votes from diverse racial groups. However, many from Latinx, Black, and Asian backgrounds ascribe to more conservative, religious views compared to their white counterparts. If you pull up the links in that last sentence, political conservatism and Evangelical Christianity (which often go hand in hand) is actually growing in some ethnic groups, whereas it is declining among white Americans. People of color have also long been overshadowed in the pro-choice movement by white women.
The “pro-choice” movement is simplistic, often white-washed, and does not reflect the spectrum of reproductive choices important to people of color.
I encourage you to read more on reproductive justice here. Fear mongering over anti-abortion laws will NOT be enough to encourage voting among diverse racial groups.
How do we get people to care about abortion rights?
This is clearly the million dollar question. I will speak from my own experience. I’m a church girl — grew up in the Christian church, I still go to church (not quite as consistently). I am a Christ-follower that cringes at a lot of the conservative agenda coming out of the church.
What changed my heart and mind around women’s reproductive rights was actually taking care of women and learning factual information about abortions. I’ve reflected a lot on how this ties into my faith. Some of my favorite stories about Jesus are those where he cared for women that society had shunned — the hemorrhaging woman, the woman caught in an affair, the widows. Similarly, as a gynecologist, I see my role in abortion care as a spiritual calling. I feel called to advocate for these women that are in a moment of crisis.
Each woman and her story are different. But having an abortion is life-changing. Some economists see access to reproductive healthcare, including abortions, as a major factor in uplifting women’s status in education, finance, and society. I’ve know this to be true in my experience with patients.
If anything, the current political climate may motivate some voters on the fence or those who were apathetic about voting. Otherwise, I don’t think many people are willing to switch political affiliations based on changing abortion laws. We as a society, especially politicians, have to really come to terms with our biases and assumptions about what pro-choice means and who cares. Based on my experience, if we want to change hearts and minds we have to have some really honest conversations, and that requires trust and building relationships.
