Is Thanksgiving a Pro-Life Holiday?

It’s easy to find the celebration of life in Christmas…a young, unwed pregnant girl…a newborn, divine baby…the wise men honoring this new life with lavish gifts. Easter spreads a pro-life message as we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior, as He conquered death once and for all.

However, my guess is that when it comes to Thanksgiving, new life and pre-born babies are the not the first things on most Americans’ minds. Instead, the holiday conjures images of the NFL, family gatherings, and food…lots of food.

In modern America, Thanksgiving has become little more than a bridge from the ghoulish nonsense of Halloween to the childlike wonder of Christmas…unless you dig deeper into its rich history.

Consider its origin. The Pilgrims—an English religious sect that refused to recognize the British monarch as an agent speaking on behalf of God—had lived under persecution since the Protestant Reformation swept across England. They were denied basic freedoms granted to most subjects of the Crown due to their doctrinal beliefs. Many had to worship in secret to avoid imprisonment by King James. And none were allowed to participate in any form of local government.

This small religious sect had few choices. They could stay in England and subject themselves and their families to the persecution of the Crown. Or they could take a chance and start over in a new, uncharted world thousands of miles away.

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They weighed their options. The Pilgrims’ future in the New World could be filled with bountiful blessings and unlimited religious freedom. But first they had to sacrifice their possessions, their livelihoods, and their way of life by embarking on a treacherous journey across the Atlantic Ocean.

Working day in and day out with women and men who face unplanned pregnancies, I can’t help but draw comparisons between the uncertain futures of our Pilgrim founders, and those of the thousands of abortion-determined women who contact our life affirming pregnancy centers.

At Human Coalition, we talk weekly with hundreds of women who feel pressured to abort their children. This oppression usually comes from family members, husbands, and boyfriends. Feeling alone and isolated, women facing crisis pregnancies often see no way out of their circumstances and believe the falsely promised “security” of abortion is their only real solution.

Then a compassionate person—from either Human Coalition’s in-house call center, or one of our participating life-affirming pregnancy centers—points them down a different pathway. A road on which women in crisis discover true freedom from their fears and ultimately embrace the life growing inside them.

Just like the Pilgrims of England, this new pathway requires great courage and sacrifice. It means “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead” (Philippians 3:13).

It’s not always easier to start over in a “new world.” Whether that world is an unknown wilderness on the other side of the globe, or it involves caring for a new baby who was not a part of your future plans. Both require hard work, dependence on others, and sacrifice. And yet, both reap beautiful freedom and life as well.

Nearly 400 years ago, a hundred Pilgrims piled onto a small ship with their few belongings, and they ventured to a New World sprinkled with a few small colonies that were barely surviving. Upon their now-famous landing at Plymouth Rock, the Pilgrims gave thanks to God and began cultivating a new society.

The first year in the New World was replete with difficulty, disease, and death. In fact, half of the colonists died during that first winter. Yet with faith in God and commitment to their calling, the Pilgrims pushed through the hardships, eventually erecting a successful working town that became the model for future colonies.

Similarly, the women who come through Human Coalition’s Women’s Care Clinics and participating life-affirming pregnancy centers and choose Life for their children don’t always go on to live easy lives free from hardships. On the contrary, many face the rejection of their families, the delayed pursuit of their goals, and the difficulties that come with raising a child. But in all my years of helping to save babies from abortion, I’ve never met a mom who wished she’d aborted her child. In fact, the most frequent response I hear from these women is how much joy their baby has brought to their life. Like the Pilgrims, they pushed through the challenges and reaped the reward of making the harder decision: choosing Life for their children.

This Thanksgiving, families all across America will gather to remember the sacrifices our nation’s forefathers made to build a country founded on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. However, at millions of these gatherings, someone will be missing…an adult…teen…or baby whose life was cut short because of abortion.

I invite you to join me in remembering them.

I also invite you to join Human Coalition in our mission to rescue babies from abortion. It’s not just the moral thing to do; it’s the American thing to do.

Let’s honor those who sacrificed so much to establish a country where freedom and life are valued, by protecting the freedoms and lives of our fellow citizens—both preborn and born.