(University of Paderborn)

Complicity Critiques and the Christian Right’s Anti-Abortion Logic

Ever since Roe v. Wade in 1973, conservative Christians have waged war against reproductive rights in the US. A key component of their fight has long been the language of complicity. In my paper, I will first analyze the Christian Right’s complicity rhetoric and logic in anti-abortion efforts by drawing on a wide range of examples such as Christian websites, billboard campaigns, and the 2014 Supreme Court Burwell v. Hobby Lobby decision. The combination of individualism and anti-structuralism at the core of evangelical Protestantism accounts for their understanding of complicity: In most cases, they dichotomously differentiate between good and evil and seek non-complicity by refusing to participate in wrongdoing. However, my analysis will also show that they strategically employ structural complicity critique when conducive to their purpose. The two, at times, strangely coexist. To make sense of that, the paper opens with some introductory remarks about the relationship of left theory, the appropriation thereof by the right, and complicity critiques.  

In a second step, I argue that the right’s opposition to abortion renders them implicated in anti-black, misogynistic, and anti-poor structures, as evident not least due to the many studies available that prove how important comprehensive medical care and access to reproductive health care are, especially for the underprivileged and structurally disadvantaged. The Christian Right’s usage of complicity is flawed because it privileges one alleged wrong over everything else, especially those concerning the social fabric of society (racism, patriarchy, economic inequality).  

In a third and final step, I begin to ponder ways of challenging the anti-abortion movement and successfully calling them out on their complicity. (How) Can they be convinced that their agenda does great harm? I caution that human’s affective attachments to their beliefs render this a particularly difficult endeavor – but one that must be undertaken nonetheless.