New Wave Feminists Founder Comes to BC

The Boston College Pro-Life Club welcomed Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa, the founder of New Wave Feminists, on March 9. Her talk was focused on “the consistent life ethic,” a philosophy that believes in life being free from violence “from womb to tomb.” Herndon-De La Rosa founded New Wave Feminists when she struggled to find groups that were both dedicated to being pro-life and feminist. She found that in any group she joined, members tended to have a problem with one of the two beliefs. She gathered with other pro-life feminists over social media and, over time, they gradually built what would become New Wave Feminists.

Along with describing the origin of the group, Herndon-De La Rosa explained the mission of New Wave Feminists and their approach to defending life. The first distinction she gave was that the group is not focused on the legality of abortion. Rather, they hope that they can make it so that abortion is “unthinkable” and “unneccessary” in modern society. She explained that pregnant women need support that they aren’t receiving, and that in order to be pro-life, people have to take action and help women in practical ways. For this reason, the New Wave Feminists are trying to approach being pro-life through having a focus on the human rights issue of both the unborn and women. 

The group gained attention when they attempted to join the Women’s March in Washington D.C. in January 2017. They received a sponsorship title at first, but it was subsequently taken away due to backlash from other feminist groups. They went anyway and found that many other feminist marchers believed that they should not have been taken off of the sponsor list.

This event also resulted in many media outlets reaching out to them and asking for a comment. Herndon-De La Rosa used this opportunity to explain the consistent life ethic to a broader audience. 

The group also worked for their mission by supporting Bottles to the Border. This is a campaign started by New Wave Feminists on the border of the United States and Mexico which raises money to buy products like bottles and diapers for infants and families facing difficulties in the area. Herndon-De La Rosa said that the organization, in a similar way to New Wave Feminists, asks people to put the politics of the situation behind them and to focus on the immediate issue instead. In this case, it was oriented on helping families to receive vital resources. They raised $135,000 with Bottles to the Border and donated some of the money to groups that were focused on reuniting families at the border.

Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa has also done work just across the border in areas of Mexico with high rates of abuse towards women. Many of the women she met there were pregnant due to sexual abuse. Herndon-De La Rosa wondered if these women would want abortions. She found that they never asked for it or chose it. They just looked for support and supplies. She said that it was a community of mothers supporting each other, calling the community a “culture of life.”

Herndon-De La Rosa went on to describe the situations that women face in modern society. She said that there’s a culture of “gaslighting” women with abortion. This is done, she explained, through society saying that it’s not a “big deal” especially to women who have had abortions when, in reality, it is a heavy reality to deal with. In this way, Herndon-De La Rosa explained, women are often purposefully “kept in the dark” and “pressured into the decision” with some medics not even showing them their sonograms. 

She also said that women who have had abortions are often told to never think back on it, but, when they intentionally get pregnant in the future, they will remember when their baby is at the stage in which they had their abortion in the past, and noted that this is a struggle that is often overlooked. She then said that society uses abortion as a “cop out” because they “don’t want to accommodate” pregnant women. In this light, Herndon-De La Rosa explained that it is important for people to support pregnant women rather than condemning them and to make a society where they don’t have to fear abuse and abandonment.

She said that it is important that women understand their bodies and fetal formation, because “when you understand human life” there’s a drive to “help the vulnerable.” More information on the group can be found at newwavefeminists.com.