--- title: Right to Life March: Women Should Reclaim 'Pro-Life' description: The term is too often used by those who fight health care, yet support the death penalty and less gun control canonical: https://time.com/4648829/new-pro-life-movement/ author: Danya Ruttenberg article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-27T19:43:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:43.088Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Women Should Reclaim the Term ‘Pro-Life’ From Anti-Abortion Activists og:description: It is too often used by those who fight protections of the vulnerable og:url: https://time.com/4648829/new-pro-life-movement/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50f77d73fda12283/6988b76a428a9ee4cdcd5a32/pro-life-movement-march-donald-trump-washington.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: U.S. Supreme Court Issues Major Opinions On Abortion And Gun Rights og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Women Should Reclaim the Term ‘Pro-Life’ From Anti-Abortion Activists twitter:description: It is too often used by those who fight protections of the vulnerable twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt50f77d73fda12283/6988b76a428a9ee4cdcd5a32/pro-life-movement-march-donald-trump-washington.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Women Should Reclaim the Term _Pro-Life_ From Anti-Abortion Activists > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=27ba26e4-cff0-4134-ba5a-8bc0e058f9f3&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Anti-Abortion Activists Take Part in the March for Life [Watch (HLS stream): Anti-Abortion Activists Take Part in the March for Life](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/6iJk9AhN.m3u8) (1:35)  _Published 2017-01-27. Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump's counselor Kellyanne Conway addressed the crowds_ by [Danya Ruttenberg](https://time.com/author/danya-ruttenberg/) ## Danya Ruttenberg Jan 27, 2017 7:43 PM UTC  Pro-choice and pro-life activists demonstrate on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 27, 2016, in Washington, D.C. Pro-choice and pro-life activists demonstrate on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court on June 27, 2016, in Washington, D.C. Pete Marovich—Getty Images by [Danya Ruttenberg](https://time.com/author/danya-ruttenberg/) ## Danya Ruttenberg Jan 27, 2017 7:43 PM UTC Several thousand people stand to die if the [Affordable Care Act](http://time.com/money/4643626/employer-health-insurance-change-obamacare-repeal/) is repealed. It is, simply, the outcome if [health insurance](http://time.com/money/4645721/obamacare-repeal-access-coverage/) is taken away from as many as 18 million people — especially if protections for those with [pre-existing conditions](http://time.com/money/4632898/obamacare-affordable-care-act-repeal-what-happens-preexisting-conditions/) are removed as part of the deal. In my Talmudic way, I’ve been trying to think of a scenario in which this makes sense to someone who identifies as pro-life, as do Mitch McConnell, Paul Ryan, Mike Pence and Health Secretary nominee [Tom Price](http://time.com/4645075/tom-price-second-senate-confirmation-hearing/), as well as many others making this push. But I can’t. Even for those whose objections to the legalization of abortion come from the most specific of theological reasons — that is, that babies are innocent and deserve special concern — it doesn’t hold up. After all, the impact on an ACA repeal on families with [preemies](http://www.urban.org/research/publication/partial-repeal-aca-through-reconciliation-coverage-implications-parents-and-children) or who [need the neonatal intensive-care unit](http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-obamacare-voices-20170109-story.html) is likely to be devastating. Even those who prioritize infant life over adult life should be in favor of Obamacare. It’s time to re-appropriate the term _pro-life_. Those who want to take away both women’s reproductive health care _and_ everyone else’s every-kind-of health care have lost their right to the term. _Pro-life_ is ours now. It should become a rallying point for those of us resisting the new Donald Trump Administration and its threats to our inalienable rights. The new pro-life movement is pro–health care. We will fight the attempt to repeal until the very last. To be pro-life now means to be pro–gun control. Thirty-three thousand people are killed annually by [gun violence](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/gun-deaths/) in America. Many of those deaths could be prevented with universal background checks and other regulations. We’re pro–police reform, because better hiring practices, training practices and accountability measures could [save lives](https://mappingpoliceviolence.org/nationaltrends/) and minimize harm — because the lives of those disproportionately targeted by [implicit bias](http://time.com/4398505/implicit-association-racism-test/) matter. We are here for the safety and dignity of every person. We’re here for refugees fleeing war; their very survival depends on finding shelter on our shores. We take climate change seriously, and know that the fate of our planet and all who dwell upon it depend on us doing so. We are anti–[death penalty](http://time.com/4607300/death-penalty-2016-record-low-executions/). We know that, even in the face of the most heinous crimes, the state should not have the power to execute. We’re aware that the U.N. Commission on Human Rights has called for its [abolition](http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/death-penalty/international-death-penalty/death-penalty-and-human-rights-standards) worldwide, that it is used disproportionately on [the poor and people of color](http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/05/we-already-know-whats-wrong-with-the-death-penalty/361635/) and that condemning [innocent people](http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/death-penalty/us-death-penalty-facts/death-penalty-and-innocence) to death row is still very much a reality. We are procontraception _and_ pro-choice. We are pro-enabling parenthood to be chosen and children to be cared for, and against unsafe back-alley abortions. Some of us might think that abortion is morally wrong, but know that personal feelings should not drive national legislation. We know that there are a lot of different ways to understand this complex issue and that, ultimately, the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of personal privacy means that each individual should have the right to choose. On many of the above issues, we are natural allies of those who espouse a [consistent life ethic](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2017/01/25/how-the-march-for-life-will-highlight-how-being-pro-life-doesnt-stop-at-birth/?utm%5Fterm=.95a518421cd7) — such as those [marching on Washington](http://motto.time.com/4632907/kellyanne-conway-anti-abortion-march-for-life/) on Jan. 27 — though we differ significantly in our thinking about this Constitutionally guaranteed right to bodily autonomy. Needless to say, we should all work in solidarity together when we can, and part ways when we cannot. In this new era, those of us who oppose Trump’s agenda are in need of new language that helps to galvanize and unify us. If it lays bare the hypocrisy of those claiming to care about innocent lives, all the better. To be sure, some of these goals feel painfully far away at this political moment. But as we fight, as we resist, as we push for human rights and human dignity, we should always remember who we are and what we stand for. We are here to care for and protect everyone’s well-being, in America and worldwide. We are the movement for life. ## Transcript [00:00] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [00:11] I am [00:17] pro- life. It is no coincidence. [00:22] That the first right cited in the Declaration of [00:25] Independence is the right to life. [ APPLAUSE ] [00:33] It is a right, it is not a privilege, it is [00:37] not a choice. It is God given. [ APPLAUSE ] It's [00:42] a good day. And it's the best day [00:46] I've ever seen for the March of Life in more ways than [00:49] one. More than 240 years ago, [00:54] our founders wrote words that have echoed through [00:57] the ages. They declared these truths to be [01:01] self- evident, That we are all of us endowed [01:06] by our creator. [ APPLAUSE ] [01:11] With certain unalienable rights, and that among these [01:16] are life. Because of all of you, And [01:20] the many thousands who stand with us in marches like [01:23] this all across the nation, life is [01:27] winning again in America. 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