The Lindsay Clancy mistrial has exposed a raw division within the pro-life movement over a question its leaders have largely avoided: Should women who have abortions face criminal prosecution?
Clancy's defense team admitted she caused the deaths of her three young children. Conservative and Christian voices quickly drew parallels to abortion, arguing that cultural acceptance of abortion has fostered sympathy for those who kill born children.
Yet the movement's establishment organizations have largely staked out the opposite position: women should not face criminal penalties for having abortions.
More than 70 prominent pro-life groups formalized this stance in a 2022 open letter that explicitly discouraged state lawmakers from supporting legislation that would criminalize women for abortion. The letter stated that "women are victims of abortion" and warned against any measure that would "criminalize or punish women" for what it described as "the willful murder of their own pre-born babies."
Pro-life leaders defend the position by citing political risks and cultural narratives around pregnancy and postpartum depression. Last year, a North Dakota pro-life lobbyist illustrated the approach when asked by a lawmaker about prosecuting the CEO of Planned Parenthood for a self-induced abortion. She said she would view such an individual "as someone in pain," attributing the situation to "this culture of lies about abortion."
Critics within the movement argue the reasoning is inconsistent. They contend that framing women as "second victims" of abortion contradicts the moral logic of treating abortion as murder. This perspective, they say, actively shapes pro-life policy: legislation drafted by pro-life organizations frequently includes carveouts that exempt women from civil or criminal liability related to abortion.
The Clancy case has intensified the argument. Nurse Susan Davison, in a letter unsealed in court, offered a different frame on the killings, writing "I could have been Lindsay. Anyone of us could have been." The remark reflects broader discussions about postpartum depression and systemic failures in mental health care.
