Making Abortion Unthinkable: Gen Z and a Culture of Life

How did “safe, legal, and rare” become “abortion on demand?” What will it take to make abortion “unthinkable?” 

In a recent Friday Forum, Autumn Christensen, the Executive Director of Her PLAN, an initiative of Susan B. Anthony List that supports community-oriented pro-life resources, spoke on why there have been more abortions since Dobbs. The watershed 2022 decision that overturned Roe v. Wade eliminated the federal constitutional right to an abortion and returned regulatory authority to individual states. 

Dobbs did not make abortion illegal, Christensen said. “It simply allowed federal and state lawmakers to enact protections for unborn children. Dobbs is an invitation to act. It is not the end of the story.”

Christensen traced the arc of the pro-life movement over the past several decades. While Gen X pro-lifers successfully fought for waiting periods, informed consent, and saw improvements in ultrasound and the growth of pregnancy resource centers, the baton now passes to Gen Z to navigate the challenges and opportunities post-Dobbs. Christensen praised the younger generation’s pragmatism, authenticity and insistence on one-to-one relationships – necessary traits to create a “culture of life” around mother and child.

After dipping to 700,000 in 2020, abortions are again over 1 million a year, largely driven by the wide availability of the abortion pill. Without proper screening, the pills can pose serious medical dangers, such as hemorrhaging, infection, miscarriage and sepsis. Pills also speed up the decision-making process women face. Rather than go to an abortion clinic, women can obtain pills for future use “just in case.” And because of loose regulation that allows mail distribution, the pills are easily trafficked or used maliciously. Christensen cited tragic examples of women being pressured, if not poisoned, to take abortion pills at the behest of the father or a family member. 

This “systemic pressure” to abort pervades online culture. Abortion is no longer “taboo,” and slogans like “shout your abortion” indicate a growing normalization of the practice. In choosing life, a woman is engaging in a counter-cultural activity. 

That’s where authentic and supportive relationships come in. According to Christensen, 60 percent of women said they wouldn’t have chosen abortion if they had more emotional or financial support at the time of their pregnancies. To create a safety net around vulnerable women, Her PLAN coordinates community support and resources from pregnancy centers, maternity homes, mom support groups, etc. 

Christenson closed with the story of the Good Samaritan who brought a wounded man to a community safety net. He set a plan by addressing immediate concerns (bandaged wounds), provided transportation (a donkey), and brought him to a supportive community (housing). “He didn’t do everything himself, or just one thing,” she said. “Let this be an example for us.” 

Thank you, Autumn and Her PLAN for inspiring Gen Z (and all of us) to create life-giving communities around women in need. By working together in community, and by supporting the needs of mother and child, we can bring about a world where abortion is unthinkable.