Abortion & Social Justice

What is Social Justice?

Many times in your community, you will hear that “abortion is social justice” and that “reproductive rights and social justice” are essential to the human rights of women.

We know that abortion ends the life of an innocent human being, so how can it be true that abortion is essential to achieving social justice? It helps if we define what “social justice” is.

Many people talk about social justice but do not effectively define the term or explain how to engage in it, and truthfully, there is no one outlined definition of social justice. In fact, most people can’t explain it without including a list of social injustices that need to be overcome (think poverty, hunger, and homelessness).

So, let’s define what exactly “social justice” means:

So·cial/ˈsōSHəl/ Adjective


1. needing companionship and therefore best suited to living in communities.
“we are social beings as well as individuals”
… here, we’re referring to a relationship or relationships between people.

jus·tice Noun/ˈjəstis/


1.  Just behavior or treatment.
2. The quality of being fair and reasonable.

… this definition highlights the function of Justice as a virtue of rendering unto others what is rightfully theirs. Justice is more than the enforcement of the law.

Social Justice, then, means maintaining “correct” relationships with others. Its goal is to promote human flourishing and it is the sum of millions of acts of relational Justice between millions of people.

Where Does Social Justice Begin?

Social Justice requires us to reach out to those who are most in need, those who have broken relationships, and those who are unwanted. The individuals who are most vulnerable to being abandoned & abused are the most defenseless among us – the preborn.

Social Justice truly begins in the womb. Social justice pertains to people, and people start in the womb. The preborn are most vulnerable at the beginning stages of life and it is here that they require our greatest attention and efforts.

In order to assist the preborn, we must first reach out to help women facing unplanned pregnancies.

The abortion industry very literally stays afloat on the false claim that the best solution for unplanned pregnancy is abortion. They do their best to convince us that abortions allow women to continue living a “normal” life, complete her education, and enjoy a successful career. The abortion industry thinks this is social justice.

Is it?

Abortion doesn’t eliminate problems. It further complicates and harms relationships in women’s lives. Abortion can and will only make any situation worse. It allows abuse and loneliness to continue. It’s a quick fix to a bigger problem.

This is why Students for Life of America exists. With your help, we are reaching out to these women at schools across the country. It’s up to us to show them that the destructive “quick fix” of abortion is not worth its lifelong damages under any circumstance. True social justice is reaching out to form “correct” bonds with people and making sure that all – born and preborn – have the right to life.

What Can I Do?

Here are some quick and easy things you can do to spread the pro-life message on YOUR campus and show fellow students that abortion is not social justice:

  • Put posters up around your school: in classrooms, on billboards, in high-traffic areas. Let your campus know that abortion does NOT equal social justice.
  • Request an SFLA speaker or host a training to come to your school to talk about social justice.
  • Write a term paper addressing abortion as a hindrance to social justice.
  • Host an SFLA tabletop display.
  • Chalk the question, “Is abortion social justice?” on a heavily trafficked area. Have members of your group on-hand to answer questions and engage in conversation.