Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians

Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians (PLAGAL) is an interest group of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered Americans and their straight allies. PLAGAL supports the pro-life position that life begins at conception and thus abortion is unjust lifetaking that should be prevented, especially through opening up other choices--what they would call "real" or "nonviolent" choices--for women. They differ from some other pro-life interest groups because they also support gay marriage and other expressions of nonprocreative sexuality as valuable in their own right and as means of reducing or eliminating abortion.

History and evolution
The Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians was founded in 1990 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Washington D.C. under the name "Gays Against Abortion" by Tom Sena. Its first President was Philip Arcidi, who was elected in 1994. "Gays Against Abortion" changed its name to the current "Pro-Life Alliance of Gays and Lesbians" in early 1991 to better reflect its membership of gay men and lesbians. PLAGAL also encompasses bisexual, transgendered, and intersexed persons, as well as straight allies.

PLAGAL has pointed to pro-life research that shows a link between women's abortions and breast cancer. They have also taken the position that even if a woman is infected with HIV she should not abort the fetus because there are ways to prevent the transmission of the virus from the mother. They support expanding access to antiretroviral drugs for all people who need such treatment, including pregnant women and their fetuses. In March of 2005, PLAGAL came out in support of legislation introduced by State Rep. Brian Duprey of Maine which, assuming that science would discover a significant genetic component to homosexuality, would make it illegal for a woman to abort her unborn child based on the child's predicted sexual orientation.

Recent years have brought some changes to PLAGAL. Tom Sena, PLAGAL's founder, died in June of 2001. Joe Beard, another prominent PLAGAL member, also died in July of the following year. Nevertheless, the group remains active under the leadership of its current President, Cecilia Brown.

Reaction to the organization from gays and lesbians
As upholding a pro-life position is often associated with the political ideology of the religious right, many gay and lesbian people consider themselves to be pro-choice and view pro-life gays and lesbians with a similar type of disdain that is given to gay conservative interest groups such as the Log Cabin Republicans and the Independent Gay Forum.

LGBT (Lesbian-Gay Bisexual-Transgendered) pro-lifers counter that their beliefs on abortion derive from beliefs regarding nonviolence, human rights, and the interconnectedness of human rights--not from purely sectarian "sex-negative" or "traditional family values" views. Although some PLAGAL members are otherwise conservative, they span the political spectrum, and many members identify as liberal, leftist, or progressive. PLAGAL President Cecilia Brown, for example, is a member of the Green Party. Another national officer, Jackie Malone, is outspoken on disability rights.

As early as 1994, Chuck Volz, co-founder of the now-defunct Delaware Valley PLAGAL chapter, started a row in the local gay media when he condemned the sponsors of the Philadelphia AIDS walk for diverting "crucial funds" to assist in the abortion of HIV positive children.

Most of the debate within the gay and lesbian community remains peaceful, if not always civil. However, in 1995 PLAGAL applied for participation in Boston's annual gay pride parade and was denied. PLAGAL set up a table along the parade route, where members distributed literature. During the parade, the table was surrounded by angry hecklers who tore up PLAGAL's leaflets, leading to police asking PLAGAL to leave the parade area to restore order. 

Most gay and lesbian rights organizations in the US have entered into a coalition with pro-choice interest groups. This is in large part because many interest groups and politicians who identify themselves as pro-life oppose gay marriage, and some even go as far to support government prohibitions on birth control, condoms and homosexuality. Thus many members of the LGBT community have reacted skeptically to PLAGAL, and some offer the further criticism that PLAGAL has never explained to their prochoice counterparts what their stance on condoms or abstinence-only sex education is.

PLAGAL has distributed condoms and dental dams at public events like Pride Parades and expressed pro-contraception views on its website, in its publications, and in talks and panel discussions. In her contribution to the anthology book ProLife Feminism Yesterday and Today (Second Edition, ed. Mary Krane Derr,Rachel MacNair, & Linda Naranjo-Huebl, Feminism and Nonviolence Studies Association/XLibris 2006), PLAGAL President Cecilia Brown advocates same-sex marriage, the parenting rights of LGBT persons, birth control, and comprehensive sex education. She critiques homophobia--including homophobia on the part of some antiabortionists--as a *cause* of undesired pregnancies and abortions.

At the 2000 Millennium March for Equality, the major gay rights interest groups such as the GLAAD and the HRC endorsed pro-choice public policies, despite the protests from PLAGAL.

Reactions to PLAGAL from the pro-life community
In the United States some pro-life interest groups tend to oppose gay marriage, a few even oppose providing access to birth control and condoms in favor of a position that sexual activity should only occur within a traditional, heterosexual, marriage. As such some socially conservative pro-life interest groups are uneasy with an interest group that is both pro-life and pro-gay rights.

In 2002, Ms. Nellie Gray, the President and permit holder for the annual March for Life, denied a permit to PLAGAL and ordered its members to be arrested rather than participate in the ninenteeth annual parade. The incident sparked a debate within the pro-life movement as to the ideological reasons for opposing abortion and whether not that ideology could be both pro-life and pro-gay rights. The religious right is a powerful force within the pro-life movement and some in that group see its opposition to abortion as part of a broader agenda that also includes opposition to homosexuality.

At the time, the verdict of the pro-life community was divided. Some pro-life advocates see their position as part of a more secular, human rights position sent letters of support for PLAGAL. These individuals and organisations to be affiliated with peace, nonviolence, and social justice groups that see their opposition to abortion as part of a Seamless Garment Network &mdash; now called Consistent Life Ethic that encompasses opposition to violence against women, racism, poverty, nuclear weapons, the Iraq War and the death penalty within the United States and abroad.

Others see the struggle against abortion in more pragmatic terms and welcomed the support of PLAGAL, without care for their position on other issues. While still other pro-life advocates that see their position as part of a broader religious movement, opposed the pro-life movement allowing a pro-gay rights organization to be associated with their movement. The debate is still on-going, but as the pro-life movement is not solely a sectarian-conservative Christian one, PLAGAL has been welcomed to march in subsequent marches.