Leader of Radical Abortion Group NARAL Has Resigned, Claims Support for Abortion is ‘Stronger Than Ever’

In an interview with The New York Times, Ilyse Hogue, president of the radical abortion group NARAL, shares her belief that support for abortion is “stronger than it’s ever been” as she tenders her resignation after serving for eight years.

NARAL Pro-Choice America is a radical abortion lobbying organization dedicated to “fighting for reproductive freedom for every body.” It is often considered more extreme than Planned Parenthood, but without the clinic aspect.

In a Twitter post on Monday, Hogue, who has served as the organization’s president since 2013, announced her resignation. “Some news: After eight years of leading NARAL, I shared with my team today that I am moving on. Not right away – I’ll be here to support the team through the transition to our next lucky leader.” She then posted the piece from The New York Times.

Her announcement resulted in a series of supportive posts.

Pro-abortion Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, wrote, “Ilyse has been a fearless leader for NARAL who shifted the narrative on abortion rights and reproductive freedom. I’ve been honored to fight by her side for the past eight years. Ilyse, I’m so proud of you, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.”

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren tweeted, “Nobody has fought harder to protect abortion rights and reproductive health care in this country over the past eight years than NARAL President Ilyse. Thank you, Ilyse, for your leadership and your friendship. I’m very grateful.”

At this point, Hogue has not revealed her future plans, but for pro-life activists it’s perhaps encouraging to see one of the nation’s most prominent abortion activists leave a prominent lobbying group.

Over the years, Hogue has been known to make some outrageous statements about the pro-life movement and abortion in general.

For example, in her recent interview in The New York Times, Hogue said, “Part of, as I say, steeling the spine and building the courage for elected officials is making sure that we own the accurate history of this movement. Clinic violence during the ’80s and into the ’90s was the precursor for the violent extremism we’re seeing now. Why that’s been allowed to continue is because society writ large — and certainly politics — has allowed them to wrap themselves in this faux religiosity and get away with stuff we would never allow in other parts of our culture.

“If you talked to any abortion provider, they know what that feels like to be under siege. So really understanding that — and that goes back to the underlying ideology of the modern-day anti-choice movement, and this is not to say every person who identifies as pro-life — but the movement is one that believes in minority control to right Christian men. So there’s just immense symmetry between these ideologies.

She also stated her belief in the interview that the pro-abortion movement was “stronger than it’s ever been,” despite the growing number of younger pro-life men and women.

During a pro-abortion nationwide tour called Rise Up for Roe in 2018, in which several high-profile pro-abortion activists attended and spoke against the confirmation process of now Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Hogue said at the Washington D.C. event, “Roe protects all of us. A government that can deny us an abortion can force us to have an abortion. A government that can deny us an abortion can force us to become sterilized. This is not some vision of dystopia—this has happened in our country.”

When one discussion ventured towards school shootings at the Austin event, Hogue said, “The silence of pro-life groups when very loved and very wanted children are being ripped away from loving families is deafening.”

Hogue is the second prominent pro-abortion leader to resign in the last three years, Cecile Richards, former Planned Parenthood president, was the first. It demonstrates that a change in direction could be coming to the pro-abortion movement.

Photo from Wikimedia