Stacey Abrams reveals she was pro-life until she went to college: 'a matter of faith'
'I've thought about my faith a great deal,' Abrams told CNN
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Georgia gubernatorial hopeful Stacey Abrams revealed during an interview on faith and abortion that she was pro-life up until she attended college.
"I've thought about my faith a great deal. In fact, I was anti-abortion until I went to college," Abrams told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union" Sunday.
"And there I met a friend who has my shared faith values, but we started having conversations about what reproductive care and abortion care really is. And when I talk about that, it was an experience that I had because she was able to give me a different perspective," she continued. Abrams attended Spelman College during her undergrad years before earning her Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Texas at Austin and getting her J.D. from Yale.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Abrams, who is the daughter of two retired United Methodist pastors, has become one of the most vocal political supporters of abortion access. She railed against abortion access in her home state of Georgia last week, arguing that "it is lethal to be pregnant in Georgia if you are a Black woman."
She continued on Sunday, explaining that she became more pro-choice over the "next few years" after meeting her college friend.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams speaks to the media during a press conference at the Israel Baptist Church on May 24, 2022, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
"And over the course of the next few years, I really started thinking about what role should the legislature play, what role should government play?" she continued. "This is health care. This is about a woman's right to control her body. ... And that, for me as a matter of faith, means that I don't impose those values systems on others. More importantly, I protect her rights, I protect her humanity and that should be my responsibility."
Gov. Brian Kemp speaks during an election night party after winning re-nomination to be the Republican candidate for governor on May 24, 2022, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Abrams is in the midst of her second Georgia gubernatorial run, after failing in her 2018 run against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. She will face off against Kemp again this November.
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"Electing me as governor is going to be a sea change, and it is going to be a strong signal to the remaining legislators that they've got to do right by the women of Georgia," Abrams said on CNN Sunday when asked how she would work to expand abortion access with a Republican-controlled Georgia legislature.