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5 Lessons from the UN on How Feminists View Pro-Life Advocacy 

For seventy decades, the Commission on the Status of Women has occurred annually at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, for discussions on human rights issues affecting women and girls. These conversations more often than not exclude the rights of the unborn human in the womb. My experience this past week disclosed the perplexing reality of how groups advocating for life are perceived in these spaces. 

Pro-life presence has become a developing problem, and it can no longer be ignored in the international arena. 

In this article, I explain the five main lessons I observed on how our movement is viewed by pro-death feminists. 

1. The Pro-Life Movement is Well Organized 

In an official UN parallel event examining global strategy against the so-called “anti-rights” movements, the coordination of pro-life and family groups was implicitly praised for their influence by panelists. 

It was recognized that these groups possess the ability to create alliances and influence political systems behind the scenes, while having a grip on the culture to steer it in a direction that affirms their efforts. 

The session highlighted that the organizational impact of pro-life and family movements is being taken seriously as a threat at the international level. 

2. Pro-Lifers are “Anti-Rights” Advocates 

Session hosts were typically involved with feminist institutions that advocate globally for “Sexual Health and Reproductive Rights” (SHRH). For example, organizations present at the Commission included groups such as UNRISD, IPAS, and Fòs Feministas. 

Terms like “anti-rights” and "anti-gender" were consistently used to describe those who uphold the sanctity of human life and sex-based rights. 

Rather than being seen as individuals who hold a different interpretation of human rights, pro-life and pro-family movements were labeled as major “undemocratic” and “authoritarian” barriers, and were set as rivals against human rights altogether. 

It became apparent during my time spent in these rooms that this weaponization of language was consistent in numerous discussions and intentional to legitimize their viewpoints and dismiss those who oppose. 

3. There Is Urgency to Counter the Pro-Life Impact 

Countless sessions stressed the importance of not only criticizing but also effectively coordinating opposition to the pro-life and family movement. 

Speakers emphasized the need for an increase in financial support to propel their movements forward. They also called attention to the advancement of collaboration with various NGOs and governments, along with the formation of cross-regional alliances. Subsequently, panelists expressed the significance of policy reform and the utilization of legal strategies to boost their objectives. 

This observation proved that the pro-life movement has been effective in their actions and exposed the need for a collective conscious strategy to turn back the tide that has been forged by pro-lifers. 

4. Culture is the Key Battleground 

Above all, feminist representatives urged priority on controlling civic dialogue and conditioning thoughts on the individual level by monopolizing messaging and creating an ingrained influence within the culture. 

There was a connotation of engaging their ideas through creative storytelling via media, and the expansion of education aimed towards youth to maximize long-term impact in society. 

While this is not only the goal of our adversaries, ultimately, their endeavor is to influence the culture to produce the laws they desire before the pro-life and pro-family movement does. 

5. The Long-Term Effectiveness of Pro-Life Mobilization Is Acknowledged 

As heard in Global Trends and Strategic Responses to Anti-Feminist and Anti-Rights Backlash, panelists acclaimed the competence of the “anti-rights” movement in their effectiveness to conduct efforts over long periods of time and their gradual domination over spheres of influence. 

There was an urgent demand to learn and adopt strategies from what has worked well for those who task themselves with defending life.