Pro Life Movement Torn Apart: Abolitionists vs Incrementalists Battle Over Prosecuting Women

Should Women Who Get Abortions Face Criminal Prosecution? The Pro Life Movement Is Divided

The pro life movement is fracturing from within over a question that strikes at the heart of its mission: should women who obtain abortions face criminal prosecution as murderers?

National pro life leader and Spotlight on Life podcast host Aniela Chis warned this week that a growing divide between abolitionists and incrementalists threatens to undermine decades of progress in the fight against abortion.

The abolitionist wing argues the logic is straightforward: abortion ends an innocent human life, murder demands prosecution, therefore women must face legal consequences. They demand immediate, total abolition with no exceptions and no compromise.

Chis pushed back forcefully, invoking Scripture and centuries of Christian theology. She pointed to the Old Testament distinction between intentional murder and unintentional manslaughter through cities of refuge, rejecting what she called a "flat equivalence" in justice.

The gravity of an act and the moral guilt of the person committing it are not always the same.

Chis cited Augustine and Aquinas to support the distinction between objective evil and subjective culpability. She also referenced James 3:1, which teaches that greater knowledge brings stricter judgment, and Paul's testimony in 1 Timothy 1:13 that he received mercy for persecuting Christians "because I had acted ignorantly."

Pro Life Leaders Clash Over Justice, Mercy, and the Future of the Unborn

The practical challenges are significant. Chis noted that medication abortions closely resemble natural miscarriage, occur in private, and leave virtually no forensic evidence. Uniform prosecution would prove nearly impossible and would likely result in selective enforcement against the most vulnerable populations.

Rather than targeting women, Chis advocates focusing prosecution on abortion providers who possess institutional authority, professional training, and financial incentive. She called for strengthening support systems, addressing coercion, confronting misinformation, and holding men accountable for abandonment.

The tension was visible at the 2026 March for Life, where longtime pro life leaders called for a more confrontational approach. Abby Johnson, a prominent abortion opponent, said the movement had been "betrayed." Vice President JD Vance acknowledged the internal debate, stating that disagreements within the movement "help keep people like me honest."

The Crusader's Opinion

Every year, 73 million children are killed by abortion worldwide. That is not a statistic. That is a genocide happening in real time while we argue among ourselves about strategy. The abolitionists are right that every unborn child deserves equal protection under the law. The incrementalists are right that we cannot win by alienating the very women we claim to love. But here is what both sides need to hear: the enemy is not each other. The enemy is the abortion industry that profits from death, the culture that normalizes it, and the cowardice of leaders who refuse to act. Unite or lose. There is no third option.

Take Action

• Support Crisis Pregnancy Centers: Volunteer your time or donate to your local crisis pregnancy center. These frontline ministries save lives by offering women real alternatives. Find one near you at Heartbeat International.
• Contact Your Representatives: Call your state legislators and demand they introduce equal protection legislation for the unborn while funding support programs for mothers in crisis. Find your representative at usa.gov/elected-officials.
• Donate: Support organizations defending the persecuted and the vulnerable, including The Shepherd's Shield and Open Doors USA.
• Pray: Commit to praying daily for the end of abortion, for unity in the pro life movement, and for women facing unplanned pregnancies.
• Share This Story: The mainstream media will not cover internal pro life debates honestly. Share this article with your church, your family, and your community so Christians can have an informed conversation about where the movement goes from here.