I was born in the 1980’s and raised in a nation that legalized abortion for any elective reason and at any gestational stage. Growing up I didn’t give a lot of attention to the issue because it was rarely discussed in my school, home or church. My perspective on abortion changed in college when I learned I was scheduled to be aborted but my mom walked out. That revelation caused me to dig deeper and look into the reasons women chose abortion and how it impacts them. To my horror I discovered the abortion industry was rooted in racism, driven by greed and used to bring the deaths of close to 60 million children in the U.S since 1973.

Earlier this week I sat in on a press conference at our state capitol in which Senator Richard Blumenthal referred to the Pain-Capable Unborn Infant Child Protection Act as shameful. Blumenthal called the conference to express his disgust at legislation aimed to protect the lives of children at or beyond 20 weeks in the womb. Sen. Blumenthal told the crowd of pro-abortion supporters from NARAL CT and the CT Women’s March that they were on the ‘right side of history’.

At one point in America’s history abortion was illegal and considered cruel and immoral. Even after Roe v. Wade was made the law of the land, abortion was discussed as a necessary evil. Political leaders like Hillary Clinton called for abortion to be ‘safe, legal and rare.’ In contrast Sen. Blumenthal stood with women holding signs with phrases such as ‘reproductive freedom and reproductive justice.’ Abortion is now championed as a means to liberating women from the chains of pregnancy. The main reason women choose abortion is lack of financial resources, but pro-abortion leaders don’t discuss it as a choice made in desperation. Pro-abortion politicians like Sen. Blumenthal celebrate access to it (even in the late term stages) as something that proves they are on the right side of history.

Sen. Blumenthal is wrong. As a woman of color, I’m painfully aware of the injustices people in this nation have committed towards those who share my race and gender. We look back at the individuals who enslaved others as those who were on the wrong side of history. Racist individuals who treated human beings as property and our justice system that declared African-Americans as 3/5ths of a person were on the wrong side of history. Pro-lifers on the other hand, seek to affirm the dignity and value of all human life. We work to preserve life because we believe every person has value.

Our nation has made leaps and bounds since 1973 when it comes to our knowledge of fetal development. We know that preborn children feel pain in the womb, even before 20 weeks. Data continually shows that the vast majority of Americans oppose abortion in the later stages. 3D and 4D ultrasound technology allows us to see the intricate beauty of a developing child. The United States is one of just seven nations in the entire world that allows abortion past 20 weeks. Most of Europe prohibits abortion past 12-14 weeks. It isn’t shameful that committed pro-life leaders attempted to pass the Pain-capable Unborn Child Protection Act. What’s shameful is the fact that Sen. Blumenthal and abortion rights supporters believe allowing the barbaric tearing apart of 5 month old preborn children in the womb is a ‘women’s right’. What’s unbelievable is that pro-choice senators cowardly rejected this act, denying protection to preborn children and women.

This generation of young people is more pro-life than their parents. It’s been said that we have the most pro-life generation since 1973. The pro-life generation is making history. Along with making history, our defense of innocent human life will keep us on the right side of it.