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Despite Texas’s so-called abortion “ban,” Foundation to Abolish Abortion reports that over 60,000 abortions are expected to be committed by Texas women this year — and that number doesn’t even include the rising tide of unrecorded self-managed abortions. The truth is, abortion remains legal in Texas at any stage and for any reason — as long as it’s committed by the mother.
This shocking reality prompted Texas abortion abolitionists to file HB2197, an equal protection and justice bill that would apply existing homicide laws equally to protect prenatal children. But to the dismay of many, Texas Alliance for Life, one of the largest pro-life political groups in the state, actively opposed the bill. And it didn’t stop there. TAL lobbied legislators to reject equal justice, insisting that women should have blanket immunity from prosecution for their part in abortion.
TAL president Joe Pojman has repeatedly tweeted about his goal to shield women from legal accountability in such cases. In response, over 40 abolitionists staged a protest on June 21 outside TAL’s annual fundraising walks in North Texas, Harker Heights and Cedar Park. Armed with large graphic signs that accused TAL of keeping abortion legal in Texas, abolitionists exposed what they see as hypocrisy in pro-life leaders — claiming to protect the unborn while actively opposing equal protection for them. The peaceful protests aimed to engage donors who genuinely believe abortion is murder but may not know that their dollars are supporting an organization that’s working to keep abortion legal in Texas.
Unfortunately, TAL is not alone in its compromised practice. The Pro-Life Movement in general is against completely criminalizing abortion. National Right to Life published an Open Letter in 2022 that states the overall goals of the PLM: “As national and state pro-life organizations, representing tens of millions of pro-life men, women, and children across the country, let us be clear: We state unequivocally that we do not support any measure seeking to criminalize or punish women and we stand firmly opposed to include such penalties in legislation.”
Author Kayla Suderman further exposes this doublespeak in her book “Post-Roe Reformation” and delineates the biblical, political and legislative differences between the Pro-Life Movement and the Abolition Movement. In short, they have different end goals and ideological practices. The AM is not a branch of the PLM but a separate movement altogether, which is concerned with establishing equal justice under homicide law for all humans and glorifying God in its actions. It takes seriously the biblical commands to not show partiality (Lev. 19:15), to do justice and only justice (Deut.16:20), and to not acquit the guilty (Ex. 23:7; Prov. 17:15). In contrast, the Pro-Life Movement is concerned with regulating abortion and giving special legal protections to pregnant women whom it sees as victims of systemic cultural pressures.
It’s time for anti-abortion culture to pressure pro-life organizations like TAL to stand for equal justice. For those interested in learning more or getting involved with the Abolition Movement instead of compromised pro-life politics, they can reach out to [email protected]. Abortion must be abolished. Let’s hope Texas Alliance for Life “removes the evil of their deeds” and “learns to do justice” (Isa. 1:1617) or that their organization will be destroyed and replaced by those willing to fully obey the Lord and protect their preborn neighbors.
