Why I believe pro-life and pro-choice groups have more in common than first glance suggests

Michelle Tant suggests that when it comes to abortion, ’Confronting women on the front line is too late and an upstream approach is vital if we are to make significant change to the statistics.’

The recent implementation of ‘safe zones’ around abortion clinics in England has been seen as a blow to pro-life campaigners, leaving some wondering how they can speak up for the unborn if this option for protest is removed.

The abortion debate can be polarising in ways that no other issue can manage, with both ends of the spectrum believing the other to have a callous disregard for life. This is an extremely complex issue but one that I, as both a midwifery lecturer and Christian feminist, believe can be approached with both grace and truth. Abortion is a matter of social justice and as with all issues of social justice; racism, misogyny and sex trafficking to name but a few, the way to be tackled is to consider the structures and systems which uphold them.