Anti-abortion activists who describe themselves as "abolitionists" protest outside a fertility clinic in North Carolina in April 2024. Sarah McCammon/NPR hide caption Anti-abortion activists who describe themselves as "abolitionists" protest outside a fertility clinic in North Carolina in April 2024. As some Republicans try to moderate their messaging on abortion over concerns about voter backlash this November, some activists are trying to go much further.
Outside a fertility clinic in Charlotte, N.C., last month, dozens of protestors lined both sides of the street, as some shouted toward the closed front door.
"How many children are in the freezer here? How many?" one man yelled, interspersing his speech with Bible verses. "The fruit of the womb is the reward!" he shouted, referencing a verse fromthe book of Psalms. The protest was organized by a group of activists who describe themselves as abortion abolitionists, who recently spent a long weekend in Charlotte meeting and strategizing.
"We want to ban IVF," explained Matthew Wiersema, 32, of Gainesville, Ga., another protestor standing nearby. "We want to criminalize IVF.
" Using the language of the antislavery movement, abortion abolitionists like Wiersema say they oppose all abortions - no exceptions - and want to criminalize the procedure . Many are also speaking out against IVF, at a time when most Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, are stressing their support for the procedure. "I strongly support th.
