My first time publicly defending the pro-life perspective

I recently had my first experience speaking up publicly about my pro-life views, and it felt like a small but meaningful step for me.

For context, I tend to avoid conflict and don’t usually feel comfortable in debates. It’s something I’ve been trying to work on. I love studying languages, and I’m part of a French conversation group where we meet to discuss different topics. Last class, the group leader introduced the question, “Should abortion be legal?”

That day, I was the only young woman in the group, and the other two participants were elderly ladies. I quickly realized I was alone in my perspective. One of them was strongly pro-choice, and the other seemed undecided. It felt a bit isolating, especially being both the youngest and the most “conservative” person there (I do not particularly like that label, since it does not fully capture my views, but I understand that is how people tend to categorize me.)

At one point, one of the women argued that abortion is only illegal in our country because of religion, and that in more developed countries, where there is a clearer separation between church and state, it is legal. That is not how I see it. I believe that separation of church and state does not mean religious people should be excluded from political discussions. In any case, there are many secular pro-life movements around the world.

I was very nervous to speak, but I am proud that I did. I explained that I believe every human being deserves to die with dignity and should never be intentionally killed. I also said that while I do believe in bodily autonomy, I see the right to life as even more fundamental. To me, bodily autonomy is not an absolute right. For example, I cannot ask a doctor to remove a healthy arm that is not causing any harm, so I questioned why it should be acceptable to end the life of a healthy, developing fetus, especially in the very organ designed to support that development.

Overall, I just wanted to share this as a small personal victory. As someone who is naturally shy and conflict-averse, speaking up, even imperfectly, felt like real progress.