You may claim to be pro-life. But there is a good chance you aren’t. You may actually be pro-abortion.
I thought I was pro-life for many years. But after confronting the facts about abortion and looking at my own passive response to those facts, I must conclude I was pro-abortion.
How about you? Are you really pro-life?
What does pro-life actually mean?
The term “pro” means, “in favor of a proposition or opinion.”
The word “life” means “the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic objects and dead organisms, being manifested by growth through metabolism, reproduction, and the power of adaptation to environment through changes originating internally.”
To be pro-life means to be in favor of or in support of living things. Culturally, the term applies specifically to pre-born members of the human species. It can, in the broader sense, mean to be in support of all members of the human species, regardless of their age or stage of development.
I’m not using the phrase “pro-life” in its politicized sense. In some circles the phrase has become synonymous with a political party or movement. But to affiliate with a political movement does not mean we subscribe to the tenants of that movement. One can be pro-life politically and never do anything to show the support of that assertion.
I’m referring to the position we take in our hearts – what we truly, genuinely, and passionately believe about pre-born life. And our beliefs lead to actions. By evaluating our actions (or inactions) we peer into our hearts to determine what beliefs are real and which are just expressions of empty rhetoric.
To say we are pro-life is irrelevant. It is what we do that shows what we truly believe.
“Pro-life” means we passionately and diligently protect, defend, and rescue preborn children from death in what is supposed to be the safest place on earth – the womb.
A Predominant View?
I have come across a perspective in my travels and discussions that deeply disturbs me. I generally find this among people who are sincere, upstanding citizens. They are happily married, have a few children, don’t cheat on their taxes, and espouse a life that is consistent with the values on which America was founded.
The view is this: “I am pro-life. I would never consider abortion for myself. But I wouldn’t compel anyone else to take that view. It’s their choice.”
It is a viewpoint that satisfies the conscience at the shallowest of levels. It permits a person to claim an empty position without having to engage in the active defense of life that a genuine pro-life belief demands. People who hold this view agree to what the media has indoctrinated the public into for 40 years –that abortion is about women’s reproductive rights and choice and, if we disagree, we should keep our opinions to ourselves.
Numerous self-proclaimed pro-life proponents hold this view. But it is a pro-abortion view.
Someone who is genuinely pro-life understands and acknowledges a crucial fact: abortion is the willful termination of the life of a pre-born child. And the killing, though legal, is inherently immoral. Because it is immoral, to ignore the unheard cries of the victims of that immorality because of the conflict it might cause is to put one’s own comfort above the crunching of tiny skulls and the dismembering of tiny human beings.
Someone who holds this position may understand that abortion is the taking of the life of a human being, but places more value on the choice of the parents than on the life of the child. Choice trumps life. And when choice trumps life, Pandora’s box is opened and we are rewarded with slavery, genocide, euthanasia, and infanticide.
Basic facts about life and abortion
Let’s lay out a few foundational facts.
1. Human life begins at conception. The zygote is a human being at the moment of conception. It is not a potential person, a blob of tissue, or some other species. You and I are more mature zygotes. We were human at conception and have been human ever since. This is accepted medical science. (See George and Tollefsen’s Embryo for the science that validates this, or review any human biology textbook written prior to 1973.)
2. Based on this fact, abortion is the willful taking of a pre-born human being’s life. There is no grey area or other explanation. There are varying degrees of argument about whether or not the fetus is a person, at what stage we consider him to be viable, and whether we should place the same value on him as we do an infant, toddler, or teenager. Those arguments are based on arbitrarily determining a human being’s value based on what she contributes to society, whether or not she feels pain, whether or not she can survive outside of the womb, etc. The flaw in these arguments is that they attempt to define the value of human life based on something other than what we are by our very nature. The reality is this: we are individual human beings at the time of conception. We are completely distinct genetically from the mother at this earliest of stages, and we grow and develop due to internal impulses, not external stimuli.
We are unique, separate, and distinct at the moment of conception.
We intrinsically grow and mature in the womb and then after birth. Left unhindered, a healthy pregnancy will ALWAYS result in a more mature version of the zygote, whether we call him an embryo, a fetus, a baby, a toddler, or a teenager.
Abortion results in the death of a human being, regardless of whether or not we abort a 6-week old fetus or perform a partial-birth abortion moments before delivery. Some of us have come to agree that abortion is acceptable if it occurs during the first trimester. We argue that if there is no detectable heartbeat yet, or if the child cannot feel pain, or if she isn’t yet viable outside of the womb, choice trumps life and abortion is validated.
A person who is killed in his sleep may not feel any pain in death. An infant isn’t “viable,” in that she cannot survive outside the womb for more than a precious few days without care. These are not valid reasons to take their lives.
The stage at which the baby is killed is irrelevant if we accept the fact that she is a human being from the time of conception. A 6 week-old baby in the womb is no less alive than a baby at 39 weeks, and no less dead when aborted.
3. The choice to abort is not the primary choice of the parents. Though the culture and media would have us believe that abortion is about reproductive rights and choice, abortion is primarily about sex. Whether or not to have sex is the primary choice. Abortion is the final, logical conclusion of the Sexual Revolution. We opted to have sex with whomever we wanted whenever we wanted. However, sex often leads to pregnancy. So in order to continue fulfilling our sexual appetites, we needed to eliminate the unintended, frequent consequence of sex. Abortion is the final version of birth control.
When we allow the issue of abortion to center around reproductive rights instead of the life of the child, we accept falsehood and lose lives. We ignore the rights of a third person who is created as a result of the primary choice to have sex – the preborn child.
We Shouldn’t Force Our Views on Anyone Else
When someone claims to be pro-life but also tells you they wouldn’t “impose their view” on other person, consider having the following conversation:
“I understand, and your view is popular. Let me ask you this, though. Do you beat your kids?”
“Of course not! I would never beat my children.”
“I’m sure you wouldn’t. But you are ok if your friend across the street beats her children.”
“I’m not ok with that. I would never let that happen!”
“Ok, so what sort of things would you do if you knew that your friend was beating her children? Bruising, breaking bones, intentionally burning and cutting her kids?”
“That’s horrible! I would call the police; I would go over there myself and physically remove the children. I would bring them into my own home to make sure they were safe.”
“Wait a minute. If you call the police, if you physically remove the children from their home, aren’t you imposing your view on your friend? Aren’t you taking away her right to choose to beat her children?”
“But her choice is harming someone else. Her choice to beat her kids doesn’t overtake the kids’ welfare. I must intervene in order to protect her kids. ”
“I see. And I suspect that the majority of Americans would do the exact same thing. But just so I’m clear. You are ok with that same friend bruising, breaking bones, burning and cutting, ultimately ending the life of a baby that is growing inside her, but not ok if she beats the children that are in her home. You don’t want to “impose your view” on someone who ends the life of their babies, but you do want to “impose your view” on someone who beats them. Is that right?”
“It’s just not ‘my’ issue.”
Sometimes I will run into well-meaning people who tell me that abortion “just isn’t their issue.” They are concerned about wells in Africa, the welfare system, or drug and alcohol abuse. Perhaps cancer research, the economy, or animal abuse is their primary concern. These are all situations that deserve our time and attention, and I applaud those who take up these causes.
However, I question anyone’s understanding of abortion if they are a compassionate person and don’t consider abortion one of “their issues.” Abortion is THE primary social, cultural, moral, financial issue of our day. It should be the number one issue on the minds and hearts of any American who is concerned for her community and this country. There is no other issue that impacts the fabric of society more than abortion.
Why? Here are just a few reasons:
- The most common surgical procedure in America is abortion.
- Abortion is the leading cause of death in America by a factor of 2. If you are concerned about breast cancer, heart disease, or leukemia, keep in mind abortion kills far more Americans than any of those diseases. A baby is aborted every 25 seconds in America.
- 54+ million persons have been aborted in America since 1973. The Jewish holocaust claimed around 6 million lives. Abortion has killed more than nine times that number.
- Almost 3,000 people lost their lives on 9/11. We abort 3,500 children EVERY DAY.
- The economic loss in our country due to 1/6 of our population not being born is virtually incalculable. One financial analyst believes the loss of Gross Domestic Product due to abortion totals over $35 trillion dollars.
- The emotional impact of abortion on marriages, family, community, and parenting is hard to measure but most likely profound. The violence of abortion has been linked to other difficult conditions and further violence including child abuse, physical abuse, depression, and marital and relational strife.
- It is likely that between 15-20% (or more) of American adults are parents of aborted children. Think about that. There are numerous friends and family in your life who have aborted their children. Chances are they have suffered as a result.
I challenge you to find one other cause, issue, or situation that has wrought the widespread death and misery caused by abortion. Abortion in America has claimed more lives than any disease, war, plague, or natural disaster in the history of our country. And it continues to have tremendous negative impact on parents, families, communities, cities, and our nation. It is a silent holocaust of epidemic proportions.
This is why a silent pro-life supporter is actually a pro-abortion proponent.
The willful killing of 3,500 preborn American children a day is not an issue we can remain neutral on. Neutral, in this case, is passive. And passive means agreement with the practice of abortion.
We cannot take middle ground on abortion. Any position that is not decidedly an active pro-life stance is pro-abortion.
So why do we remain silent? Why do we not engage the culture, the church, the public square in defense of those who have no voice? Is it because we are uninformed? Are we distracted? Have we been mislead? Or do we just not care?
Search your own heart. As someone who sat on the sidelines for years not understanding (or wanting to understand) the impact of abortion, I urge you to avoid my mistake.
If we claim to be pro-life, we are obligated to engage in the defense of unborn children. We are obligated to educate, love, and care for those parents considering abortion. We are called to help post-abortive parents find healing, safety, and acceptance. We have no other choice if we are compassionate, caring people.
This war is not fought with swords, guns, empty rhetoric, bombs, mean-spirited attacks, or harsh judgment. It is fought with love, compassion, accurate science, medical knowledge, composure, intelligence and diligence.
Are you doing everything in your power to rescue unborn children from abortion?
Are you really pro-life?