Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa (born August 10, 1983) is an American anti-abortion activist. She is the founder of the anti-abortion organization New Wave Feminists.[1] She is also a frequent op-ed contributor for The Dallas Morning News.
Personal life edit
Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa was born on August 10, 1983, to a nineteen-year-old sophomore at the University of Texas at Austin. She never knew her biological father.[2] At age 16, she became pregnant and rejected abortion in favor of raising the child herself.[3][4] Now married, she has four children, two boys and two girls. Although she formerly worked in architecture, she now runs her anti-abortion feminist group, New Wave Feminists, full time with the help of her vice-president and close friend, Cessilye Smith.[5][6]
In 2017 it was reported that Herndon De La Rosa switched her party affiliation from Republican to Independent, having previously been involved with local GOP organizations such as the Golden Corridor Republican Women. She continues to work closely with conservative organizations and Republican operatives.[7][8]
In a public Facebook posting in November 2021, while discussing a scandal involving the infidelity and financial impropriety of Texas anti-abortion figures Kari Beckman and Jim Graham,[9] Herndon De La Rosa admitted to being unfaithful in her own marriage at some point in the past, going on to say she generally does not speak about it publicly out of "respect for her husband". She indicated that they have moved on from her affair, and expressed that she is "incredibly fortunate" that her marriage survived.[10]
New Wave Feminists edit
Herndon-De La Rosa co-founded anti-abortion group New Wave Feminists in 2004.[11][12] The group promotes the consistent life ethic, opposing the death penalty, torture, and unjust war.[13] The group is a member of the Consistent Life Network, a non-sectarian and non-partisan international network of organisations embodying this philosophy.[14]
While Herndon-De La Rosa and the New Wave Feminists are known primarily for opposition to abortion, she has also written on related anti-abortion subjects, such as an editorial published in The Dallas Morning News expressing opposition to calls for execution of Nikolas Cruz, the so-called "Parkland shooter", and to the death penalty in general.[15]
In 2018, Herndon-De La Rosa expelled co-founder Kristen Walker Hatten from her position as vice president of New Wave Feminists after it was leaked that she was allegedly a white nationalist in the wake of the election of Donald Trump.[16] She has also been vocal in criticizing the association between some anti-abortion campaigners and the presidency of Donald Trump, as well as some campaigning tactics of the mainstream anti-abortion movement.[17][18]
In 2018, Herndon-De La Rosa traveled to Ireland to campaign against the repeal of the 8th Amendment, who gave a constitutional legal protection of the unborn and prohibition on abortion. The effort was ultimately futile as the Irish voters overwhelmingly to repeal it.[19][20][21]
In July 2019, New Wave Feminists partook in a campaign of over fifty anti-abortion groups who took more than $133,000 in supplies and $72,000 in funds to immigrant respite centres on the Texas-Mexico border. Supplies focused on the needs of immigrant mothers and babies.[22]
In October 2019 Herndon-De La Rosa released a statement on social media announcing her personal and organizational intention to sever ties with Abby Johnson's "And Then There Were None" abortion opposition group. Her stated reason was Abby's "blatantly racist statements" in a Twitter feud Johnson had with an African American minister.[23] This resulted in some division among her friends and followers on various forums, which in turn led to an extended personal sabbatical from social media.
Women's March edit
On January 13, 2017, 2017 Women's March event organizers granted the pro-life feminist group New Wave Feminists partnership status.[24] But after the organization's involvement was publicized in The Atlantic, it was removed from the partners page on the march's website.[25][26] Other anti-abortion groups that had been granted partnership status, including Abby Johnson's And Then There Were None (ATTWN) and Stanton Healthcare, were subsequently unlisted as partners as well. However, New Wave Feminists still took part in the official march. Herndon-De La Roasa told St. Louis Review that she felt welcome at the event.[27]
Herndon-De La Rosa also attended the 2018 Women's March.[28][29][30][31]
Regarding the 2021 Women's March, Herndon De La Rosa posted on Facebook "It’s 100% an abortion rally, so obviously we can’t participate in the traditional way for this one." Despite her declaration, the previous Women's Marches she participated in had also expressly been in support of abortion rights.[32][33]
References edit
- ^ Chandler, Michael Alison (2018-01-19). "'Badass. Prolife. Feminist.' How the 'pro-life feminist' movement is straddling the March for Life and Women's March". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ "This Is What a Pro-Life Feminist Looks Like". D Magazine. 29 May 2017. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ "This Is What a Pro-Life Feminist Looks Like". D Magazine. 29 May 2017. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ "This anti-abortion feminist had a foot in both marches". PBS NewsHour. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ Ms. Smith left New Wave Feminists in November 2018 to work on her own woman-oriented non-profit, Abide Women's Health Archived 2018-11-05 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Levitz, Jennifer (2018-01-18). "One Year After Women's March, Organizers Hope to Get Out Pink Hats Again". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ "This Is What a Pro-Life Feminist Looks Like". Broadly. 2017-06-02. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
- ^ "Abortion opponents look for a home in the Democratic Party". Broadly. 2017-03-29. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
- ^ "FallFromGrace". 15 November 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15.
- ^ "New Wave Feminists". Facebook.
- ^ "This Is What a Pro-Life Feminist Looks Like". D Magazine. 29 May 2017. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ Chandler, Michael Alison (2018-01-19). "'Badass. Prolife. Feminist.' How the 'pro-life feminist' movement is straddling the March for Life and Women's March". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ "This Is What a Pro-Life Feminist Looks Like". D Magazine. 29 May 2017. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ "Member Organizations". Consistent Life Network. Archived from the original on 2017-01-04.
- ^ "Don't let emotion determine whether Cruz gets the death penalty". 20 February 2018.
- ^ Bassett, Laura (2018-04-17). "Anti-Abortion Leader Emerges As White Nationalist". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ "The Anti-Abortion Movement Has Made a Deal with the Devil (Trump)". Broadly. 2018-01-30. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ "Abortion protesters who wield photos of fetuses aren't actually pro-life". Dallas News. 2017-09-08. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ "In Ireland, pro-lifers rally by the thousands against legalizing abortion". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ "Huge crowds join pro-life march in city - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ "Ireland Votes Overwhelmingly to Repeal Abortion Ban". Human Rights Watch. 2018-05-26.
- ^ Bachmann, Elizabeth (31 July 2019). "Pro-life groups' campaign provides items to mothers, babies at border". National Catholic Reporter. Archived from the original on 2019-07-31.
- ^ "New Wave Feminists - New Wave Feminists wants to exist as an organization that continually improves. We want to be known for integrity, honesty, and pursuing justice in every area". Facebook. 3 October 2019.
- ^ "Views on Abortion Strain Calls for Unity at Women's March on Washington". The New York Times. 2017-01-18. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ Green, Emma (January 16, 2017). "These Pro-Lifers Are Headed to the Women's March on Washington: Is there room in the movement for people who morally object to abortion?" Archived January 19, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, The Atlantic. Retrieved January 22, 2017.
- ^ "Organizers of the Women's March remove pro-life group from list of partners". Women in the World. 2017-01-17. Archived from the original on 2017-12-14. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ "Pro-life groups felt welcomed by participants in Women's March | St. Louis Review". stlouisreview.com. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ "1 Year Later, Where Does The Women's March Go From Here?". NPR.org. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ "'You Love Every Child': President Trump Addresses March For Life". NPR.org. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ Levitz, Jennifer (2018-01-18). "One Year After Women's March, Organizers Hope to Get Out Pink Hats Again". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ "8 people, 8 different perspectives after a year under Trump". PBS NewsHour. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 2018-05-25.
- ^ "New Wave Feminists". Facebook.
- ^ "Time magazine". Time.