Abortion, incest, rape and pregnancy from a pro-life feminist perspective. Sally Winn, vice president of Feminists for Life of America, challenged an audience of about 40 Thursday to reinvent its views on these issues.
"Pure feminism is about equality. I think women often become ashamed of being pregnant," Winn said. "We should have a culture that is more accepting of women who are pregnant. If you are pregnant, there's nothing to be ashamed of."
Winn argued that while claiming to be pro-choice, today's culture puts pressure on women who become pregnant to have an abortion if they want to keep their careers or remain in college.
"How many of you know someone in college who is pregnant? Have you seen a pregnant student on campus?" Her question was met with silence. "The problem is that you don't. You know why? They drop out of school or college," she said.
Winn said one in five abortions is performed on a college student, and it is because of this high rate that Feminists for Life has decided to focus on college students. The organization's College Outreach Program was launched to provide resources for pregnant students and those who already have children.
She said Feminists for Life has already begun providing pregnancy resource kits to college health clinics and leads the discussion on developing practical resources for pregnant women on campuses.
Winn, a Protestant, said feminism embraces basic rights for all human beings regardless of religion, gender, race, level of ability, age, location, size or parentage. Now, she said, is the time for women to concentrate on their rights to be themselves, rather than conform to societal pressures.
A former director of two pro-life organizations, Democrats for Life of America and Women and Children First, Winn said she had to decide whether to abort when she was in college.
"I wasn't pro-life when I became pregnant. I didn't ask myself what would be the most moral thing to do. I just told myself that there was no compelling reason to have an abortion," said Winn, a single mother.
Winn also said abortion should not be a solution for rape or incest victims.
"Abortion is not going to undo the rape. It's adding insult to injury," she said.
"The child should not be valued on who the father is or how he or she was conceived."
Senior Steve Hong, president of Duke Students for Life, said Winn's perspective was refreshing.
"She really harmonizes the idea of women and babies. Often, these two [ideas] are separate. Both lives are valuable," Hong said. "You don't need to protect one at the expense of another."
Senior Katie Atlas, who is pro-life, said she hopes more options will be made available to pregnant students.
"I understand that you can't do everything for everyone. But there need to be alternatives to abortion for students on campus, like daycare services," she said.
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