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Secular Pro-Life

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Secular Pro-Life
AbbreviationSPL
Formation2009[1]
President
Kelsey Hazzard
Websitewww.secularprolife.org

Secular Pro-Life (abbreviated to SPL) is a United States all-volunteer[1] pro-life organization which works both to end elective abortion and to incorporate atheists, agnostics and secular humanists into the United States anti-abortion movement.[3] Founded in 2009 by Virginia law student Kelsey Hazzard,[1] SPL uses non-religious arguments[4] in advocacy against abortion on university campuses[5][6] and on the Internet.

Within the United States, 72% of the religiously unaffiliated say that "abortion should be legal in most or all cases"[7] compared to 53% of the general public. Among atheists and agnostics, 84% say abortion should be legal in most or all cases. SPL operates in the context of a highly polarized debate over abortion, where the anti-abortion movement America mainly consists of members of the Christian right.[8] While 75% of white evangelical Protestants say that having an abortion is morally wrong, 25% of religiously unaffiliated people say so.[9] The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Politics notes that 22% of nonreligious unaffiliated Americans describe themselves as "pro-life on abortion" while just 12% of atheists and agnostics do.[10]

Stances

Secular Pro-Life is opposed to elective abortion, except in situations where the mother's life is at risk and early delivery is not a viable option.[3] Their fetal personhood argument states that a fetus is a human being recognized as a person that possesses human rights, and that the concept of bodily autonomy of mothers does not permit abortions in the majority of circumstances.[11] Despite widespread attention to rape and pregnancy controversies in the 2012 United States election, SPL does not have a position on abortion in the case of rape.[11] SPL is in favor of barrier-based contraception, along with any other form of contraception that prevents fertilization but does not prevent the implantation of the blastocyst,[12] and the organization also supports sex education.[13][14]

While geared towards the non-religious, Secular Pro-Life states that they are open to religious believers, as they accept anyone who makes non-religious argument against abortion based on science or philosophy.[4][15]

History

Secular Pro-Life ran a stall at the 2012 American Atheists conference. Their presence there caused some controversy within the atheist community.[16][17]

In February 2014, President of Secular Pro-Life Kelsey Hazzard gave a talk at the University of Georgia entitled "Pro-Life Without God".[5][18][19] In the run up to the event, SPL posters were repeatedly torn down in an attempt to thwart Hazzard's presentation.[5][19] The president of the University's Students for Life group stated that the identity of the vandals was unknown.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b c "History". secularprolife.org. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  2. ^ Martin, Christina (10 February 2013). "New Pro-Life Book "Cultivating Weeds" Sees the Future of Abortion". LifeNews.com. Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Mission". secularprolife.org. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  4. ^ a b O'Neil, Tyler (22 January 2014). "Millennials Will Be the Generation That Ends Abortion, Say Students for Life and Jim Bob Duggar of '19 Kids and Counting'". The Christian Post. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  5. ^ a b c Fouriezos, Nicholas (6 February 2014). "Pro-life speaker gives secular position on abortion". The Red and Black. University of Georgia. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  6. ^ Saussy, George (21 October 2013). "Yale hosts first pro-life conference". Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  7. ^ "Nones on the rise - Social and Political Views of the Unaffiliated". Pew Research Center. 9 Oct 2012.
  8. ^ Ertelt, Steven (11 February 2014). "Atheist on Why She is Pro-Life: "We're Not Dealing With Tissues or Blobs"". lifesitenews.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  9. ^ "5 facts about abortion". Pew Research Center FactTank. 21 Jan 2015.
  10. ^ Corwin Smidt; Lyman Kellstedt; James Guth (10 September 2009). The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Politics. Oxford Handbooks Online. ISBN 978-0-19-532652-9.
  11. ^ a b "Abortion". secularprolife.org. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  12. ^ "Contraception". secularprolife.org. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  13. ^ "New Generation Grapples With Roe V. Wade". NPR. 23 January 2012. Archived from the original on 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  14. ^ "Sex Education". secularprolife.org. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  15. ^ "Religion". secularprolife.org. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  16. ^ Kruszelnicki, Kristine (29 March 2012). "Pro-life atheists invade the American Atheist Convention". lifesitenews.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  17. ^ Fain, Leslie (24 January 2013). "Atheist, Secular, and Pro-Life". Catholic World Report. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  18. ^ a b Soave, Robby (6 February 2014). "First Amendment, pro-life flyers shredded on Georgia campus". The Daily Caller. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  19. ^ a b Deangelis, Jeannie (14 February 2014). "Pro-life signs torn down ahead of speech by Secular Pro-Life President Kelsey Hazzard". Live Action. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
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