The political issue of abortion has divided the world for many decades. The abortion quotes below will inform you of the thoughts and opinions behind the views of each side.

Abortion has been practiced since the olden times. However, most of the procedures then involved non-surgical yet heavy physical activities like paddling, weightlifting, climbing, etc.

Today, abortion is actively happening around the world, regardless of its legality, safety and availability. And while the commitment and efforts to reduce the need for abortion through education and contraception continue, people are still at odds about this issue.

What is your opinion on abortion? Which side are you on?

Pro-choice activists believe that access to abortion is important for the safety of millions of women. They believe that legal abortion is a right and women should be able to choose which decision is right for them.

Pro-life activists, on the other hand, strongly condemn abortion. They believe that it should be illegal and must be a criminal offense.

No matter which side you are on, the below quotes will shed some light on the mindset of each side.

Below are thought-provoking abortion quotes from prominent figures on both sides that are bound to start a conversation.

We also have a collection of comforting quotes about miscarriage for those who have been through it. Don’t forget to also read those.

Abortion quotes from pro-life activists

1. “I’m pro-life. I believe in life at conception.” – Darryl Glenn

2. “Pro-life includes improving life after birth.” – Mike Huckabee

3. “Life is a civil right. Abortion is a civil wrong.” ― Alveda C. King

4. “I’ve noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born.” – Ronald Reagan (see more Ronald Reagan quotes)

5. “Stopping abortion is the most important human rights cause on earth.” – Chris Smith

6. “I’m a pro-life candidate because I believe that science is proving us right every day.” – Carly Fiorina

7. “We really need to get over this love affair with the fetus and start worrying about children.” – Joycelyn Elders

8. “I’m proud of the fact that the Republican Party is the pro-life party on the issue of life.” – Marco Rubio

9. “It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.” – Mother Theresa

10. “Let me be clear: since I am pro-life, I do not support the mission of Planned Parenthood.” – Karen Handel

Abortion quotes from pro-choice activists

11. “I am pro-life, but because life is complicated, that choice is between a woman and her idea of a higher power.” – Meghan McCain

12. “We’re always going to argue about abortion. It’s a hard choice and it’s controversial, and that’s why I’m pro-choice because I want people to make their own choices.” – Hillary Clinton

13. “On behalf of NARAL Pro-Choice America – and our one million member activists – I am honored to be here to talk to you about what’s at stake for women in 2012. I am proud to say that the Democratic Party believes that women have the right to choose a safe, legal abortion with dignity and privacy.” – Nancy Keenan

14. “As a member of the House Pro-Choice Caucus and a strong defender of a woman’s right to choose, my bottom line here is this: women have a constitutional right to access abortion.” – Seth Moulton

15. “If we lived in a culture that valued women’s autonomy and in which men and women practiced cooperative birth control, the abortion issue would be moot.” – Christiane Northrup

16. “If the right to privacy means anything, it is the right of the individual, married or single, to be free from unwanted government intrusion into matters so fundamentally affecting a person as the decision to bear or beget a child.” – William Brennan

17. “I have met thousands and thousands of pro-choice men and women. I have never met anyone who is pro-abortion. Being pro-choice is not being pro-abortion. Being pro-choice is trusting the individual to make the right decision for herself and her family, and not entrusting that decision to anyone wearing the authority of government in any regard.” – Hillary Clinton

18. “No woman can call herself free who does not control her own body.” – Margaret Sanger

19. “The emphasis must be not on the right to abortion but on the right to privacy and reproductive control.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg

20. “No woman should be told she can’t make decisions about her own body. When women’s rights are under attack, we fight back.” – Kamala Harris

More thought-provoking abortion quotes

21. “Abortion is not the lesser of two evils. Abortion is profamily, prolife, moral, and good. For many millions of women, abortion has meant getting on with their lives and continuing to meet their responsibilities to themselves, their families, and society.” – Patricia W. Lenneborg

21. “If we are going to change this country’s laws, we need to have pro-life members of both parties.” – Dan Lipinski

22. “I think abortion is something you’re supposed to do before you get pregnant.” – Dmitry Dyatlov

23. “To be unwanted is not to be unworthy, is not to be worthless. Because unwanted, the unborn child does not deserve death.” – Paul Marx

24. “The abortion debate is more about power and control than the fate of a zygote.” ― Thor Benson

25. “Anti-abortion activists often make exceptions for rape and incest, which suggests that it is her desire for sex for which a woman must pay with her pain.” ― Naomi Klein

What do you think about these abortion quotes?

What is your view on women’s rights? Check out these feminism quotes, International Women’s Day quotes, and Eleanor Roosevelt quotes if you’re all about women empowerment.

In the discussion surrounding abortion, finding a “right” answer can be next to impossible. It completely depends on what you believe is right.

No matter how abortion rights progress in the future, the discourse surrounding the topic will remain conflicting.

It is important to continue discussing the issue of abortion rights, and women’s rights in general. Remain open to hearing out each viewpoint and do your best to refrain from judgment.

How do you feel about abortion rights? Here are some important abortion facts if you want to learn more about it.

Which one of these abortion quotes do you feel most strongly about? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.