The Vegan View

What is the vegan view regarding abortion? Are vegans pro-life or pro-choice?

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VegFamily readers reply:


Alice:
A vegan must be pro life. How could you respect animal life and not human life? Vegans want to stand up for the most helpless of all and a precious baby must be qualified as the most helpless, unable to care for itself in any way.

Heather:
Prolife, but with the use of various birth control methods. I believe having one or two children is ok, unless birth control fails, keep the child. Abortion is disgusting.

Ildiko L:
As a human being and one who does not believe in killing, I do not support the killing of unborn life. It falls in line with my ethical beliefs about using animals for food, clothing etc...

Theresa:
Pro-life. It only makes sense. I never understood why so many "pro-lifers" support war and eating meat and destruction of the environment. Talk about a contradiction! I also never understood why so many vegans and environmentalists who support animal rights, human rights for the already born could be "pro-choice", when that very term means that the unborn child has none. Plus with so many vegans into natural medicine, it seems like abortion is about as unnatural as you can get.This is why I don't fit in very well politically - I'm way to the left on many things and way to the right on others, and not really middle of the road on much of anything :)

Sandra:
Pro-life

Sid:
I cannot imagine there being a vegan position on abortion, just as I cannot imagine a vegan position on antiseptics. It is the way of nature that the life of every organism depends on the death of other organisms. My own ethical principle is to refrain from causing avoidable suffering to any being capable of being aware of its own suffering. As that applies to the abortion of a human fetus it should be chosen at the earliest stage possible, when the brain is not sufficiently developed to make even the most basic animal awareness possible -- or at least likely: we may not know what is possible. I consider the kind of police state that could prevent ethically questionable abortions a greater threat to the principle of Ahimsa than elective abortion as defined in Roe v. Wade.

Emily:
I feel the view on abortion for anyone who values life would be pro-life! How can you sayyou value life if you believe in killing the most precious of them all, the unborn. Pro-life!!!

Dana:
PRO-LIFE

Shannon:
As she says in Eat, Pray, Love "Having a kid is like getting a tatoo on your face, you have to be committed." Let woman decide for ourselves.

Ali:
I am pro- choice. I believe that no matter what you believe in terms of whether or not you feel abortion is right or wrong, it is a completely personal decision. No one has the right to tell someone else what they can or cannot do with their body, especially the government. Period. Thanks!

Chad Henry:
Vegans probably view abortion according to their political beliefs. Many women tend to be pro-life. Personally I feel that women should have the right to choose and that they should be protected from harrassment if they choose to terminate a pregnancy. Noone seems to have any qualms about aborting their pregnant dog or cat--I don't understand why humans should be any different, most especially in cases of rape, incest, or problematic or dangerous conditions of the pregnancy.

Ann:
I am 100% pro choice

Chris:
Seriously... If vegans don't like to kill animals why would we like to kill babies?

Mike:
Many Vegans find it offensive to slaughter animals, even for food. How can anyone not find it offensive to take a human life, born or unborn? If we can be pro-life for an animal that has no defense against our modern killing methods, how is it that we allow the killing of the ultimate defenseless life, the baby in the womb? Be pro-life!

Aimee:
I am a vegetarian and a mom of three, I am also pro-choice. It's a personal, difficult choice that some need to make, that choice should remain a choice.

Vanessa:
I feel that pro-choice IS pro-life. I feel very strongly about redefining so called "pro-life" supporters . They are actually more accurately described as "anti-choice" in my opinion. To me, embracing life is about choice . Autonomy just doesn't get any more basic than how you give birth (or choose NOT to...for whatever reason)

Brigitte:
If you won't eat an egg because it's killing a life, then how could you be anything but pro-life? Being vegan, to me, is about peace, gentleness, kindness and live and let live.

Lauren:
As a mother and dedicated vegan I am most definitely pro-life. And it seems to me anyone who has such a deep compassion for animals should share that view for all living beings including developing babies in-utero. I don't think it would make sense for someone to say they don't support the slaughter of baby calves or lambs, but beleive a person has the right to murder thier own unborn child. There is always adoption for those who do not want thier babies. Every child has the right to live and people need to be respondsible and do what do what is right. "When someone gets an abortion they're not unpregnant, they're the mother of a dead baby."

Lori: We have only one problem in this world and that is over population. All the enviromental issues, lack of clean water, species disapearing etc, everything you can think of is the result of too many people. Every child brought into this world should be given great consideration. Abortion is a greatly needed back up option. Abortion should be free and readily available everywhere for anyone who chooses. It should be encouraged in many circumstances. Let's give some other species a chance for survival and slow this out of control human birth thing down, abortion availability being an important option.

Vanessa: How can one be a Vegan/Vegetarian without being against abortion? How is an animal's life more precious than a human life? We profess to be so compassionate with our life choices concerning what we put into our bodies and it's impact on the world around us. How can extinguishing a human life because it is simply inconvenient timing, not the right sex or the prospect of growing up scares us, be compassionate or responsible?

Ken: Most vegan folk I know are pro life. However I feel to see how being vegan has anything to do with ones stand on abortion.

Kim: Pro Choice. I struggle with this, but do not feel that anyone's personal views should be legislated.

Jean: Killing is killing - whether out of the uterus or not. Any person who won't partake of killing animals certainly must also consider abortion the killing of a human. We should all vehemently fight for the life of humans as much as we fight for the life of other animals. To do not so is hypocritical - can you really call yourself a vegan if you are pro-abortion? I don't think so!

jessebee: I feel that putting abortion and vegan view in the same sentence is inappropriate. I feel that it is the equivelant of asking is what is the vegan view on homosexuality or religion. Veganism is a way of ife yes, giving reverence and respect to living beings but it is also a personal choice which spins into a personal lifestyle which is inherintly different for everyone who lives it. Abortion and other personal matters are just that...personal and thus a vegan view on it would be merely a small collective groups' opinion (keyword). The vegan lifestyle is not an over expansive set in stone book of dos and donts'...its not a religion it is a choice out of consideration for others great and small and no matter how hard and dilligent and maticulous we are about consumption, manufaction and purchase power we will never be the ultimate vegan because we still condone in one way or another carnivous acts so if we as vegans can't perfect or create an absolute with in those areas how is their any room for us as vegans to even give an inkling of an absolute when it comes to personal matters. abortion and veganism is not even in the same box with each other for one does not shine nor interact with the other. Thats my opinion.

Courtney: Veganism is founded on the premise that we respect all living creation. It is environmentally friendly, animal-friendly, and healthand body friendly. We care for animals because they cannot defend themselves - do unborn children deserve any less? Vegans uphold life -- Abortion KILLS - end of story. Thanks for asking! Peace!!

Jane: I have been a vegetarian for more than 25 years, long before it was ever popular. I have enjoyed amazing health and am rarely sick. I have had two pregnancies as a vegetarian and my children, now 24 and 22 are two amazing young adults - one is an architectural engineer, the other is working toward her master's degree to become a school counselor. As a mother, it is difficult for me to understand how anyone - especially other mothers - could support abortion. The arguments for it seem lame and the act itself so violent. (Read up on what an abortion really is and what happens to the baby during this violent procedure. Ignorance is not bliss.) First, women do have a choice. They and their partner have a choice to use some form of birth control when they choose to have sex. Really, it's that simple. If you're sloppy or careless, you risk getting pregnant. Think before you act. And learn a little about your body. There are clear indicators to let us (women) know when we are at our most fertile. And second, the argument about women having a right to do what they want to do to their own bodies. Yes, indeed, I agree they do. If you want to put a tattoo on your arm, or even all over your body, have at it if disfiguring your body is what you enjoy. If you want to dye your hair red or orange or purple. Go for it. Even if you want to commit suicide, that's your body. Your choice. If your actions do not harm another human being, you have the right to do to it whatever you want. But, a life inside of you is not your body. It the body, soul and spirit of someone else. I have often wondered why it is legal to abort - essentially pull the plug - on the innocent life inside a human being, but it can be considered murder to pull the plug of someone on life support with little chance of survival. It makes no sense. I would venture to guess that if you asked a 45-year-old woman who had an abortion when she was 18 how she feels about her decision today, she would probably say that she lives with a hole in her soul for what she did. And, no doubt, she has wondered who that child would have been today. Hindsight is often 20/20 and we often don't have that wisdom or clarity when we are younger. There are millions of parents who want to conceive and can't. Just two letters separate abortion from adoption, but the later seems to be a much more humane option.

Roxanne: I am not a vegan but have not eaten red meat for 28 years and eat a lot of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains. On the subject of abortion, I do believe that a woman has the right to choose but also the responsibility to make good choices. I believe the issue should be taken more seriously, meaning to educate women at a very young age about the responsibilities of intimacy. It is not just the woman's life, at that point, that is in question but the responsibility of preventing a pregnancy when a child is not desired. I believe the more we educate, the more we empower women to make good choices.

Dawnee: Pro-choice. Wouldn't it be wonderful if all the people in the world came into the world wanted and loved? Pregnancy is a 25-year condition - having a child is an enormous responsibility and it cannot be taken lightly. Birth control fails, pregnancy is the natural result of sex and if you're not ready to be a parent you should have the choice not to be. Most vegans would say that we should spay and neuter our animals to help keep the population of unwanted animals under control. Why wouldn't that apply to humans?

Joanna: All life is sacred. If women want choice, it should happen before conception. Choice should not mean the choice to kill another human being. Also, I think women should be raised to view their own bodies and sexuality as something sacred. I wonder how many unwanted pregnancies are a result of a woman having unwanted sex, because no-one ever taught her to value her own body as something to hold in reserve for a man who really loves and respects her.

Mark: I am Pro-Life. However, I seem to be in the minority among my Vegan friends. So, I'm interested in seeing the reasoning presented here since that seems to go against what I perceive Veganism (the protection of those who can't protect themselves) to be about. It's a subject I'm reluctant to bring up because I don't want to ruin those friendships over it.

Millie: I feel that the vegan view should be pro-life, and in my opinion it is. If those claim to be vegan or vegetarian because they are against cruelty to animals, or the taking of animal life for food, or believe in non-violence then that view is only consistent with protecting the life of the unborn also. I would assume that there are people who choose to be vegan for health reasons, or other reasons, and not for animal activism reasons specifically, however, veganism often goes beyond avoiding animal products in food to avoiding animal products in all household goods and clothing etc as a matter of choice. How much more important then, is supporting choices that help to protect the innocent lives of unborn children, who like innocent animals, cannot defend themselves against those that would seek to end their lives for whatever reason.

Polly: My view is irrelevant. Two things aren't: what God says and the scientific truth. By scientific definition, a human being is a human being from the first moment of conception because all he needs to continue to live physically is food, water, oxygen, and his normal environment. He has a God-given right to life.

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