Pregnancy Isn’t a Moral Test: Debunking Anti-Choice Myths

When Biology Becomes Judgment

Isn’t it interesting how so many of us grew up hearing that if we had sex we’d immediately get pregnant? At first blush, the comment, often coming from well-meaning parents doesn’t seem obviously harmful, but in breaking it down, it’s more clear that pregnancy is framed as a consequence and birth as a lesson.

Why is pregnancy a simplistic moral punishment? Let’s break it down.

How Pregnancy Got Moralized

As is the case for most things, its roots are in religion and patriarchy. Pregnancy has been treated as proof of virtue or evidence of failure. But these moral tests were never applied equally: they have always been shaped by race, class, gender norms, and marital status. 

Myth #1: “If You Got Pregnant, You Should Accept the Consequences”

This idea erases the realities of contraceptive failure, coercion, sexual violence, and structural barriers to care. Pregnancy isn’t a punishment, it’s a medical condition. Healthcare should respond to outcomes, not judge them.

Myth #2: “Pregnancy Is Natural, So It’s Not Harmful”

Natural doesn’t mean safe. Pregnancy and childbirth carry serious health risks and the U.S. maternal mortality rate is shockingly high compared with other wealthy countries. While overall maternal mortality dipped in 2022 to about 22 deaths per 100,000 live births, it’s far above peer nations, and racial disparities are severe. Black women’s maternal mortality rates are more than double those of white women. Additionally, broader research shows pregnancy-related death rates increased nearly 28% in the U.S. from 2018 to 2022, underscoring that pregnancy carries serious risk. So let’s be clear: natural doesn’t equal harmless.

Myth #3: “Good People Choose Birth”

This myth ties moral worth to reproductive outcomes. There’s no single “right” reason to continue a pregnancy or to end one. People’s lives are complicated, their circumstances unique, and people's choices reflect that complexity. Morality frameworks based on someone else’s beliefs don’t serve real people, only political judgment.

Myth #4: “Abortion Is About Avoiding Responsibility”

Responsibility isn’t obedience. Choosing abortion can be thoughtful, protective, and deeply responsible, especially when it comes to protecting existing children, maintaining health, preserving economic stability, and honoring one’s limits. That’s responsibility in action.

Myth #5: “Pregnancy Decisions Are Private, Not Political”

Your body may be private, but the laws that govern it are political. Since the U.S. Supreme Court ended federal abortion protections, people have faced criminal prosecution not just for seeking abortion care but for pregnancy-related outcomes that were never meant to be criminalized. Over 400 people have been charged with pregnancy-related “crimes” in just a couple of years, often for miscarriages or behaviors during pregnancy, especially in Southern states. Forced pregnancy is political. Reproductive autonomy is a human rights issue.

Who the Moral Test Hurts Most

These moral narratives target the most vulnerable: poor people, people of color, disabled people, and young people. Systems that criminalize reproductive decisions overlap with systems that surveil, punish, and deprive these communities of care. That’s power not morality.

Reframing Pregnancy Without Moral Weight

Pregnancy is a physical state. A life event. A decision point. People should define its meaning for themselves not be handed a moral scorecard. Compassion should replace judgment. Autonomy should replace control.

Choice as Trust, Not Permission

Reproductive freedom depends on trusting individuals to know their lives better than anyone else. Reject the idea that suffering is virtue. Autonomy isn’t just ethical care, it’s the foundation of it.

No One Owes the World a Pregnancy

Pregnancy doesn’t determine moral worth. If that were the case, think of how that might impact people who are unable to get pregnant or people who choose not to have children. What’s really at stake are bodily autonomy, dignity, and freedom. Let’s be clear: pregnancy is not a test of goodness, it’s a reality that deserves compassion, choice, and care. Please, go out there and fight for it.