Introduction:
The topic of abortion is one of the most contentious and emotionally charged issues in modern society. With deeply held beliefs on both sides, discussions surrounding abortion often evoke passionate responses, reflecting diverse perspectives rooted in moral, religious, ethical, and political considerations. From debates over women’s rights to the sanctity of life, the discourse on abortion encompasses a broad spectrum of viewpoints that shape public policy, personal choices, and societal values.
Within this complex landscape, individuals express their opinions, experiences, and convictions through poignant and thought-provoking quotes. These abortion quotes encapsulate the essence of the ongoing dialogue, offering insights, reflections, and challenges to prevailing norms and attitudes. Whether advocating for reproductive autonomy, questioning the ethics of termination, or grappling with the complexities of human existence, these quotes serve as poignant reminders of the profound impact that abortion has on individuals, communities, and societies worldwide.
Below, you’ll find a collection of abortion quotes that span a range of perspectives and sentiments, inviting you to contemplate the nuances of this deeply divisive issue. Feel free to use these quotes as inspiration for reflection, discussion, or advocacy, whether you choose to incorporate them into visual media, share them with others, or simply ponder their significance.
I don’t believe an Alliance government should sponsor legislation on abortion or a referendum on abortion. Stephen Harper
ERA means abortion funding, means homosexual privileges, means whatever else. Phyllis Schlafly
I was raised by my great-great aunt. I was adopted within our family. My mother had me when she was, I think, 15, 16. They tried to get her to have an abortion and she refused. So, my ‘mama’ adopted me, which was really her great aunt, which was really my great-great aunt, who was named Viola Dickerson. I was told that my mother was my sister. Eric Dickerson
I do not believe abortion should be legal. Herman Cain
My personal opinion is that life begins at the point of conception, and abortion is morally indefensible. Jacob Rees-Mogg
We must ensure full access to all reproductive health services, including abortion. We must also provide for our aging population, ensuring our parents and grandparents have the care they need. We must defend Medicare, expand Social Security, and provide tax credits for families who care for their elders and loved ones with disabilities. Deb Haaland
If you look at Griswold, what you can see is the first time the Court recognized the right to privacy, which ends up becoming ultimately the right to abortion. Jay Alan Sekulow
I get asked this question a lot. Am I really pro-life? Am I against abortion in all circumstances? Yes. Do I believe there are any exceptions for abortion? No. Do you want to make abortion illegal? Yes. Abby Johnson
The abortion cases produced an enormous amount of mail to my chambers, vastly more than to the other chambers, I am sure. I sometimes thought there wasn’t a woman in the United States who didn’t write me a letter on one side or the other of that issue. Sandra Day O’Connor
A significant fraction of evangelical voters appear more likely to ignore the candidates’ specific economic and foreign policy platforms in favor of concerns about gay marriage or abortion. Lawrence M. Krauss
What matters to the evangelical community is Supreme Court justices, economy, religious liberty, Israel, lower courts, human trafficking and abortion. Paula White
I campaigned on signing the toughest abortion bill in the country. Brian Kemp
I consider abortion to be a deeply personal and intimate issue for women and I don’t believe male legislators should even vote on the issue. Alan K. Simpson
I personally am opposed to abortion, but I will not judge anybody else’s right in that regard because I am not a woman and I could never face the actual reality of it. Martin Sheen
Many progressives understand Scalia, and other conservative judges, in crassly political terms – as opponents of affirmative action, abortion, gun control, and campaign finance legislation. But what Scalia cared most about was clear, predictable rules, laid down in advance. Cass Sunstein
Abortion and racism are both symptoms of a fundamental human error. The error is thinking that when someone stands in the way of our wants, we can justify getting that person out of our lives. Abortion and racism stem from the same poisonous root, selfishness. Alveda King
In the public, it seems to be painted that when minorities get pregnant, they need to get abortions, especially when it comes to teen pregnancy. It’s like, when black girls are pregnant, it’s like a statistic, but when white girls get pregnant, they get a TV show. Benjamin Watson
Without Khomeini, we would not be where we are. What a pity that, when pregnant with him, his mother did not choose to have an abortion. Oriana Fallaci
We know that the way to decrease unplanned pregnancies and abortions is to make birth control and family planning services accessible and affordable, not micromanage the type of medical information and reproductive health counseling that women around the world receive. Jeanne Shaheen
I don’t support abortion. I could never participate in one. But I think it would be a mistake to make them illegal again. Jesse Ventura
Informed consent is required for every invasive medical procedure, from getting your ears pierced to having an abortion. Bob McDonnell
Abortion is not health care. A woman has a right to her body, but that is not her body. What about the baby? Alveda King
Every day Catholics prove that you can be a good Catholic and a good Democrat and have a different position from the Church on abortion. James Carville
The emphasis must be not on the right to abortion but on the right to privacy and reproductive control. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Abortion and racism are evil twins, born of the same lie. Where racism now hides its face in public, abortion is accomplishing the goals of which racism only once dreamed. Together, abortionists are destroying humanity at large and the black community in particular. Alveda King
On Capitol Hill and in state houses across the country, anti-women’s health politicians continue to make it clear that they will stop at nothing to end access to a safe, legal abortion. Mike Quigley
The biggest obstacle was mixing abortion with overpopulation. These are two things that have nothing to do with each other. Jacques Yves Cousteau
To establish justice and to promote the general welfare, America does not need the abortion license. Robert Casey
In short, I’m not sure that the abortion problem can be solved by legislation. I think it can only be solved through moral persuasion. Tony Campolo
The abortion controversy is important for what it says about our stance toward procreation and children altogether. Leon Kass
The irrationality of disgust suggests it is unreliable as a source of moral insight. There may be good arguments against gay marriage, partial-birth abortions and human cloning, but the fact that some people find such acts to be disgusting should carry no weight. Paul Bloom
The Supreme Court has in place a legal structure which protects abortion rights in this country, and something has got to be done to change that before we can put in place truly meaningful protection for the unborn. Charles T. Canady
In 1985, I was living with my sister in Virginia, and since I was still in high school, I worked at McDonald’s to save money to get an abortion. It sounds really terrible, but it was the best decision I ever made. It was the first time I took responsibility for my actions. I messed up, had sex without contraception, and got pregnant at 15. Kathleen Hanna
Global warming is a political issue. It is as much a political issue to the left as abortion is. It’s as big a political issue as health care is. Rush Limbaugh
Some forms of motor neuron disease are genetically linked, but I have no indication that my kind is. No other member of my family has had it. But I would be in favour of abortion if there was a high risk. Stephen Hawking
In the eyes of the Catholic Church, abortion is a tragedy. Our principle objective must be to try and win greater sympathy for that perspective and for the value of human life from its beginnings. Vincent Nichols
One of the strangest unintended consequences of abortion, of legalized abortion, was that it drives the crime rate down because what abortion really was, was a mechanism for which fewer unwanted children could be born. Stephen J. Dubner
Abortion is a right I feel must not go away, and I feel like people aren’t mobilizing so much because it’s so complicated and it’s difficult to understand. Cynthia Nixon
Expanding eligibility of family planning services to low-income women will maximize cost-savings to both federal and state governments, reduce the disparities in access to family planning services for low-income women, and decrease the incidence of abortion in the U.S. Rosa DeLauro
The abortion industry is interested in nothing but the bottom line. Abby Johnson
If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament. Florynce Kennedy
I can’t find anything in the Constitution that says you prefer the life of the mother, or the convenience of the mother if it’s an abortion by choice, over the potential life of the fetus. Look, I think women, if they’re required to not have abortions, could die and could – so I favor a woman’s right to choose. Alan Dershowitz
Not all moral issues have the same moral weight as abortion and euthanasia. There may be legitimate diversity of opinion even among Catholics about waging war and applying the death penalty, but not… with regard to abortion and euthanasia. Pope Benedict XVI
How did abortion and birth control impact the congressional race of Dan Maffei and Ann Marie Buerkle or the presidential race between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney? I don’t know. But I think the so-called social issues were front and center in the minds of voters. These issues may indeed have lost the Republicans some elections. Karen DeCrow
The abortion facility in Texas where I worked for eight years closed after enough workers like me left. They closed because I finally spoke out against the terrible things I saw, the deceit I participated in, and the unsanitary practices common to many abortion facilities. Abby Johnson
I could never, ever have an abortion. Brooke Shields
Curses on the law! Most of my fellow citizens are the sorry consequences of uncommitted abortions. Karl Kraus
The media seems to think only abortion and gay marriage are religious issues. Poverty is a moral issue, it’s a faith issue, it’s a religious issue. Jim Wallis
Ultrasound is instrumental in the fight against abortion precisely because it allows women to make an informed choice by shedding light in a place which, for most of its history, has been shrouded in secrecy. Eric Metaxas
Too many people use abortion as a form of birth control. And that’s very wrong. I could never, ever have an abortion. Brooke Shields
Why do evangelicals support Trump? It could be because he amplified his religious messaging on the campaign trail by saying that women who get abortions should be punished and that he’s not in favor of same sex marriage. Ana Kasparian
However much I dislike the idea of abortion, you should not criminalize a woman who, in very difficult circumstances, makes that choice. Tony Blair
As pro-life advocates continue to expose the scientific and ethical reality of abortion, we must also console the millions of Americans who carry the heavy burden of an enormous sin. Michael J. Knowles
Abortion is part of being a mother and of caring for children, because part of caring for children is knowing when it’s not a good idea to bring them into the world. Katha Pollitt
Abortion politics have distracted all sides from what is really essential: a major aid campaign to improve midwifery, prenatal care and emergency obstetric services in poor countries. Nicholas Kristof
We need to say that women have sex, have abortions, are at peace with the decision, and move on with their lives. We need to say that is their right, and, moreover, it’s good for everyone that they have this right: The whole society benefits when motherhood is voluntary. Katha Pollitt
I do not believe in abortion at will. I do not believe that if a woman just wants to have an abortion she should… I do believe if you have an abortion you are committing murder. Nancy Reagan
When you represent the state of Washington, we have a tradition of deciding social issues by vote. Washington State passed abortion rights before Roe v. Wade and affirmed it at the ballot box later. Michael Baumgartner
The Roman Catholic church… carries the immense power of very directly affecting women’s lives everywhere by its stand against birth control and abortion. Robin Morgan
China’s one-child policy punishes families for having ‘out-of-plan’ children, resulting in sex-selective abortion and tens of millions of ‘missing girls’ as well as forced abortion and sterilization campaigns. Chris Smith
Abortion is defended today as a means of ensuring the equality and independence of women, and as a solution to the problems of single parenting, child abuse, and the feminization of poverty. Robert Casey
No woman has an abortion for fun. Elizabeth Joan Smith
It is of great concern that the fabric of African life, its very source of hope and stability, is threatened by divorce, abortion, prostitution, human trafficking, and a contraception mentality. Pope Benedict XVI
We’re always going to argue about abortion. It’s a hard choice and it’s controversial, and that’s why I’m pro-choice, because I want people to make their own choices. Hillary Clinton
Planned Parenthood has a right to operate. Planned Parenthood has a right to provide family planning services. Planned parenthood has a right to perform abortions. Jackie Speier
If your neighbor has a completely different view on abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research, all of those things, you still are both Americans. Neither one of you is necessarily more patriotic than the other. Neither loves their country any more than the other one does. Phil McGraw
No argument for abortion survives scientific, philosophical, or theological scrutiny. Michael J. Knowles
I don’t mean to be trite about abortion, but I do feel it’s a woman’s body, and I don’t think anyone should take away her choice of having or not having a child. Joanna Cassidy
However, we might oppose it, abortion is a sad feature of modern life. Robert Casey
Women in America must be trusted to make their own medical decisions and have access to the full range of reproductive health care, including abortion. Kirsten Gillibrand
Abortions can be, and frequently are, traumatizing, as are other invasive surgeries performed to the sexual and internal organs. All or any of these ‘violations’ can cause loss of vitality, diminished capacity for erotic connection and pleasure, and other symptoms of trauma. Peter A. Levine
We can adhere to the Henry Hyde amendment by saying that no federal funds will be used for abortions. And that’s the bottom line for me. Henry Cuellar
Americans are guaranteed the constitutional right to legal abortion in Roe v. Wade, and it’s past time for Republicans to stop using the issue as a political football. In fact, it’s past time for Republican politicians to stop interfering in women’s personal lives, period. Kirsten Gillibrand
There’s something about compassion that causes society to say, ‘We’re going to take this person seriously.’ Take Mother Teresa. She was confrontational on abortion, but she wasn’t rejected by society. Max Lucado
The truth is that contraception saves lives, prevents unplanned pregnancies, improves outcomes for children and reduces the number of abortions. Ann McLane Kuster
The political Right likes to champion individual rights and individual liberty, but it has also worked to enforce morality in relation to abortion, gambling, and homosexuality. Dave Brat
The advocates of abortion on demand falsely assume two things: that women must suffer if the lives of unborn children are legally protected; and that women can only attain equality by having the legal option of destroying their innocent offspring in the womb. Robert Casey
They credited us with the birth of that sort of heavy metal thing. Well, if that’s the case, there should be an immediate abortion. Ginger Baker
I had a second trimester abortion. I was pregnant with a much-wanted child who was diagnosed with a genetic abnormality. I made a choice to terminate the pregnancy. It was my third pregnancy, and I was very obviously showing. More important, I could feel the baby move. Ayelet Waldman
We will never see a day when women of means are not able to get a safe abortion in this country. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Patients would come in and say, Well, my baby is going to have a cleft palate. I’m going like, that’s not a reason. And the doctor would do the abortion. Norma McCorvey
When we anthropomorphize the egg and sperm, when we turn them into a miniature bride and groom complete with personalities, what effect does this have on abortion legislation? Emily Martin
The idea of making access to safe abortions harder and more expensive and more difficult, having to travel across state lines – that puts women’s health and lives in jeopardy, which is something I think no one wants. Cynthia Nixon
An abortion is expensive. Its cost includes pay for the doctor, supporting medical staff, their health benefits packages, and malpractice insurance. Abby Johnson
I just don’t believe in abortion, period. But I would never take away a woman’s right to choose what’s good for her body. But I still believe that when you do have an abortion, still inside, you go through a lot of stuff. It tears away at your spirit and your soul. So I don’t think people think about that. Sherri Shepherd
The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing between. Mother Teresa
Abortion is inherently different from other medical procedures because no other procedure involves the purposeful termination of a potential life. Potter Stewart
I don’t think that anyone is for abortion in the sense that you hope people are going to have abortions. You hope in an ideal world that every pregnancy is a wanted pregnancy. Elizabeth May
Abortion does not just hurt women. Abortion hurts a family, and it has a domino effect of hurting those related and close to those families through the grief and reality of losing a child to abortion. Abby Johnson
You can’t reconcile being pro-life on abortion and pro-death on the death penalty. N. T. Wright
Abortion is clearly wrong. Jordan Peterson
Despite frequently mocking anti-abortion activists as anti-science know-nothings, abortion rights absolutists are the ones who play fast and loose with the facts of abortion. Kirsten Powers
A lot of attention has been going to social values – abortion, gay rights, other divisive issues – but economic values are equally important. Robert Reich
I support Donald Trump, but I also support abortion and a women’s right to choice, what to do with their body. Kendra Wilkinson
Taxes are like abortion, and not just because both are grotesque procedures supported by Democrats. You’re for them or against them. Taxes go up or down; government raises taxes or lowers them. But Democrats will not let the words ‘abortion’ or ‘tax hikes’ pass their lips. Ann Coulter
Abortion is an attack on the family and the humanity that unites us all. Alveda King
The one regret I have about my own abortions is that they cost money that might otherwise have been spent on something more pleasurable, like taking the kids to movies and theme parks. Barbara Ehrenreich
I can honestly say that my abortion was one of the least difficult decisions of my life. I’m not being flippant when I say it took me longer to decide what worktops to have in the kitchen than whether I was prepared to spend the rest of my life being responsible for a further human being. Caitlin Moran
In the case of abortion, one pits the life of the fetus against the interests of the pregnant woman. Leon Kass
Over the centuries, and even today, the Bible and Christian theology have helped justify the Crusades, slavery, violence against gays, and the murder of doctors who perform abortions. The words themselves are latent, inert, harmless – until they aren’t. Amy Waldman