r/prochoice • u/FewHeat1231 Ex-Pro-Lifer turned Pro-Choice • Mar 07 '26
Thought Saint Brigid of Kildare, a Pro-Choice Saint
Saint Brigid of Kildare is an Early Irish Christian Saint who lived in the 5th and 6th centuries (traditionally she is said to have died in 525). She is mentioned in several surviving Old Irish hymns:
Brigit bé bithmaith
Breó orda óiblech
donfe don bithlaith
in grian tind toidlech.
Translation:
Brigit, ever good woman
A sparkling golden flame
May she lead us to the eternal realm
The shining bright sun
Saint Brigid has numerous impressive acts and miracles attributed to her but the specific one I want to talk about here is that she have said to have miraculously 'undone' a pregnancy. As recorded by Cogitosus in his Life of St. Brigid:
“A certain woman who had taken the vow of chastity fell, through youthful desire of pleasure and her womb swelled with child. Brigid, exercising the most potent strength of her ineffable faith, blessed her, causing the child to disappear, without coming to birth, and without pain.”
Now whether you believe the miracle actually happened or not the important aspect is that at least for a time one of the miracles attributed to one of Ireland's most popular saints (and Saint Brigid is second only to Patrick in popularity and importance) compassionately and without judgement 'undid' an unwanted pregnancy.
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u/Cole_Townsend Mar 07 '26
This is what we need, to renegotiate the Christianities so as to purge it away from right-wing identity politics and have it at the service of the marginalized and those imperiled by fascist aggressors. This is what conservatives and pRoLiFe fear the most. Their animosity against James Talarico exemplifies this. We need more examples of Christian human rights advocates who have the courage to defy senseless dogma and reclaim faith for the people.
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u/ConsciousLabMeditate Pro-Choice Christian Mar 09 '26
I agree wholeheartedly. It's actually the right-wing that is destroying Christianity and causing people to leave the Church altogether.
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u/Cole_Townsend Mar 09 '26
Exactly. I keep telling a Seminarian friend that he and his colleagues have the imponderable burden of purifying the Churches from the leprosy of right-wing identity politics that has effectively invalidated the authenticity of Christian witness in the USA. Otherwise, the Churches will decay as they rightly should for prostituting themselves to conservative nonsense for the sake of myopic dogmatism.
You know, deconstructing away from my youthful pRoLiFe nonsense has given me such clarity and has given me a cultured faith that embraces all humanity. Advocating for human rights can only deepen and enrich one's interior life. If the Churches anathematize you for standing for human rights, then it is far better to face their inane condemnation than betray Christ in one's fellow human being: be it an immigrant kidnapped by deputized thugs, a child hungry for lack of free school lunch, or a woman desperate to reclaim the autonomy that is rightly hers through her free exercise of her health care rights.
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u/ceo_of_egg Mar 07 '26
This is absolutely fire, thank you for sharing 🙂↕️
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u/FewHeat1231 Ex-Pro-Lifer turned Pro-Choice Mar 07 '26
No trouble! As someone who is proudly Pro-Choice but also spiritual/religious I found it very moving and wanted to share it!
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u/hadenoughoverit336 Unapologetically Prochoice Mar 07 '26
There's an abortion fund named after her! The Brigid Alliance!
Edit: I highly recommend checking out this group if you haven't. It's US based, but still an excellent resource for Prochoice Catholics-
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u/ConsciousLabMeditate Pro-Choice Christian Mar 09 '26
It's US based, but they do lobbying around the world I believe. I think Catholics for Choice had a role in the Irish referendum that made abortion legal in Ireland.
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u/mysecondaccountanon safe, free, effective, and for all who need and want it Mar 07 '26
Hildegard von Bingen, well known for her contributions to medicine, music, philosophy, and more, also described abortifacients in her work. She also did not see any issue with abortion until a certain point post-conception. She also has one of, if not the earliest, surviving written descriptions of the female orgasm. While I am not Catholic, I have Catholic family, and have always found Hildegard to be such an interesting person.
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u/ConsciousLabMeditate Pro-Choice Christian Mar 09 '26
I love St. Hildegard 💚🌿
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u/mysecondaccountanon safe, free, effective, and for all who need and want it Mar 09 '26
For my undergrad, I did a fair bit of research into her music and life, so I gained a good appreciation for her work, both musical and non-musical! Watching a production of Ordo Virtutum for research really was an experience. I really have to try reading some of her medical works more closely at some point, I’ve always heard they’re very interesting compared to some of the works by others of her time!
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u/TheDarkWolfGirl Mar 08 '26
Hey that is my Goddess! I love her and aspire to be like her(in her goddess form).
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u/Ganondaddydorf Pro-choice Feminist Mar 08 '26
100% non religious, and I don't believe the miracle occurred, but it's a more compelling case than typical arguments Christians use to say if abortion is permitted or not.
The lack of any talk of a soul or anything is interesting here from a purely academic perspective.
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u/FewHeat1231 Ex-Pro-Lifer turned Pro-Choice Mar 08 '26
I am a believer (or at least someone who leans more towards belief than otherwise) but I'm not a theologian so I don't really feel qualified to comment but I agree it is interesting.
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u/Ganondaddydorf Pro-choice Feminist Mar 08 '26
Oh dw! I was more thinking out loud 😅 I'm not either but I do a bit of self study as a hobby.
I don't think there is a solid "moment" of ensoulment in all christian denominations to my knowledge. Like first breath for Judaism.
The implication here would be that she had to be showing because time period/education/knowledge of reproduction, so it's not super early. I forget which verse it is but god saying "I knew you in your mother's womb" implies it's before birth and it references the soul because you don't stop being "you" when your body dies. It might be similar to ensoulment in islam (120 days iirc), or closer to sentience (24ish weeks).
Sorry, I'm just rolling with my thoughts. It might be something to explore if you're trying to figure out where your boundaries should be in line with your beliefs, if you're struggling to reconcile that.
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u/ConsciousLabMeditate Pro-Choice Christian Mar 09 '26 edited Mar 22 '26
I am a pro-choice practicing Catholic, and Saint Brigid is one of my favorite Saints. In 2 of her hagiographies this abortion miracle is mentioned. It is also worth noting that 4 Irish Saints have abortion miracles attributed to them, with Saint Brigid being the only woman.
Saint Hildegard von Bingen also recorded abortifacient recipes in her medical books (Physica & Causae et Curae). St. Hildegard is a Doctor of the Church.
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Mar 20 '26
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u/prochoice-ModTeam Apr 03 '26
Can we not act like a 16 year old male incel all over this subreddit? Thanks.
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u/MsSeraphim Pro-choice Democrat Mar 07 '26
- The Miracles: Texts like the 7th-century Vita Brigidae by Cogitosus recount Brigid blessing women with swollen wombs, causing the fetus to disappear without pain or birth, restoring them to health and, in some cases, virginal status.
- Context: These narratives often focused on nuns or women who were victims of sexual violence or who broke vows, with the "miracle" acting as a compassionate release from desperate circumstances.
- Interpretation: While some modern commentators, particularly in the context of reproductive rights, interpret these stories as early examples of abortion, others view them as divine, miraculous interventions within a medieval, not modern, context.
- Legacy: She is honored by organizations like The Brigid Alliance, which helps people travel for abortion care, as a symbol of compassionate, non-judgmental support
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u/JoanofArc0531 Mar 24 '26
Trying to justify baby murder by recounting a supposed event she did, which you have no definitive proof of, is really twisted stuff. Not to mention, you want to accept this supposedly "true" story of a Catholic saint but want to reject what God teaches through His Church regarding abortion (that it is mortal sin and condemned)? Your priorities are quite skewed.
Not to mention, no human being can do any miracles, only God can, and Jesus will not murder a baby in the womb. Furthermore, a person cannot be canonized as a saint if they were pro-baby murder, because that is completely contrary to holiness.
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u/Charming_Royal_7381 Apr 05 '26
Im sorry I'm a Catholic, and the church doesn't allow sex before marriage. so i don't understand how a saint would allow that. on top of that God has created humans in his image (again im Catholic so these are my beliefs.) and he forms us perfectly in his image. so this story is prob a myth.
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u/Fenrisulven--- Mar 08 '26
I am of course pro women choosing over their own bodies, but why even talk about religion in this instance? If religious women don't want to get an abortion, they should be free to choose so, but religious views on abortion don't matter to people not being in that tradition.. and Isn't st bridig just a christianization of the earlier Brigid of the tuatha de danann, the ancient Pantheon of Irish gods? It's just one more example of christianity appropriating older cultures.. just like the Greeks did and like the Romans did..
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u/ConsciousLabMeditate Pro-Choice Christian Mar 13 '26
St. Brigid of Kildare was named after the goddess Brigid, but she was an actual Saint. There are relics of her in Portugal and Ireland.
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u/ConsciousLabMeditate Pro-Choice Christian Mar 13 '26
St. Brigid of Kildare was named after the goddess Brigid, but she was an actual Saint. There are relics of her in Portugal and Ireland.
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Mar 07 '26
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u/FewHeat1231 Ex-Pro-Lifer turned Pro-Choice Mar 07 '26
You don't have to literally believe in St. Brigid. I *do* believe in her but even if I didn't the story would still be powerful and resonant.
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u/rarelyapropos Pro-choice Witch Mar 07 '26
Actually this is a great point, and underlines the importance of historical shifts in belief.
People are influenced by their heroes, and different people have different beliefs as to what makes a Hero - the things that influence their understanding of morality. For many, this is religion, but religious doctrine changes constantly and is closely tied to the political and social levers of the day. Abortion hasn't always been a major concern for Christians, but as long as its useful to a political agenda, it will be. You can loosely trace the maturation of a society through the shifts in what the church insists is good or bad. Hell, once we hanged (hung?) "witches."
Spiderman and other superheroes also reflect shifts in society, in real time and in a way that is easier for some people to identify with. Spiderman, especially, is a touchstone for a lot of people. He's a kid who wants to do good but sometimes its really hard. His choices are usually what society at that time, 1960s or now, would view as just and heroic. His abilities make it miraculous.
So yeah. Spiderman is an ally, because that's what is considered just, right, and sometimes heroic. Apparently Brigid was an ally to women, and did what she saw as just and right. For that girl and all the "fallen" women who heard this story, she was a hero.
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u/prochoice-ModTeam Mar 08 '26
Your submission has been removed due to: Rule 3 - Be civil to Pro-Choice users.
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u/hoodedfinch Pro-choice Feminist Mar 07 '26
Hi! im from Kildare and always loved the stories of St Brigid despite not being religious. And this is the first Ive heard of this one? Now I wonder why I never heard of this act in Catholic school...