Last month, during the panel discussion at Pace Law School on “Feminism and Women Under 40,” an audience member asked, “Can a person be pro-life and still be a feminist?” Opinion among the panelists and audience members was divided. Some answered the question in the affirmative, explaining that a person can believe that the decision to have an abortion is a tragic and painful choice that she would never make for herself, all the while identifying as a feminist. There were others who sharply disagreed, explaining that the label “pro-life” itself reflects a desire to prevent other women from making the choice to have an abortion, among others, and that such a position is antithetical to feminism itself. Of all the audience questions, this is the one that sparked the most ongoing conversation.
-Bridget Crawford
