Schenck's new memoir, Costly Grace, tells the story of the different phases of his religious and political life and explains why he changed - and how he now preaches a more inclusive message, embracing the people he once demonized. "Anytime we stop changing, we stagnate spiritually, emotionally, intellectually we stop growing." "Change is a part of the spiritual life," he explains. Schenck describes his change in outlook as one of several "conversions" he has experienced as an evangelical Christian.
"When your end goal is a political one, you will, without exception, exploit the pain and the suffering and the agony of those who face the issue in their daily reality, in their real life." "This is not a question for politicians," he says. Schenck now sees abortion as a moral and ethical issue that should be resolved by "an individual and his or her conscience" - rather than by legislation. Over time, I became very callous to that." "I remember women - some of them quite young - being very distraught, very frightened, some very angry.
"I live with regret," he says of some of his former tactics. Though firm in his evangelicalism, he has disavowed his militant anti-abortion stance. Evangelical minister Rob Schenck was once a militant leader of the anti-abortion movement, blockading access to clinics to prevent doctors and patients from entering.īut after more than 20 years in the movement, Schenck experienced a change of heart.