Abstract
Descriptions of antiabortion activism have referred to an apparent paradox: prolife picket lines and "rescue" groups often include women who have had abortions themselves. Six women among the 80 prolife direct activists, or "rescuers," I interviewed had had abortions, and all 6 emphasized the dramatic role their own abortions played in their decisions to sit-in. Their narratives repudiated facile explanations for their involvement (such as hypocrisy) and suggested a link between activists' understanding of salvation and their participation in direct action. The drama inherent in such abortion stories---expressions of anguish and remorse--played a major role in prolife rhetoric. Abortion experiences informed individuals' involvement in prolife direct action, and such personal experiences served to. confirm rescuers' beliefs. The stories considered here illustrate the roles life-history narratives play in motivating political activism and show how the nature of direct action practice shaped its adherents' views.
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