PRO-LIFE

I’m puzzled and frustrated by our culture’s common definition of the term “pro-life.” If you look up the term on Merriam Webster’s website, it tells you the definition is “opposed to abortion.” Yet the definition of pro is “an argument or evidence in affirmation” and life is defined in part as “the period from birth to death.” So why do those who oppose abortion voice this opposition so loudly that they are defined by what they oppose, not what they affirm?

I am pro-life. I care about the unborn. I want them to get the chance to experience a lengthy period between birth and death. I want them to be healthy and safe in utero and I want them to have the best possible chance to make it through birth.

Which means…

I care about the women who carry these children. I care about the quality of healthcare they receive because if these women don’t know how to care for themselves through proper nutrition and regular OB check ups, their children suffer. I care about these women and their ability to provide food, clothing and shelter – for themselves during pregnancy, for the baby after its arrival, for any children she may already have.

I care about the unborn after they are born. I want them to be well fed, I want them to have access to quality healthcare, I want them to be blessed with a consistent roof over their heads and parents who have jobs that allow them to not only provide for their families needs, but spend time together, too. I care about their souls.

I think we are too quick to say we are pro-life and by that mean that we want all women to give birth to any child they carry, but whatever happens after that is the woman’s own concern since she must live with the consequences of her actions. This is not only short-sighted as a society, it’s terribly cold-hearted. It’s not Biblical. It is, in fact, shameful.

I’d like to see the term pro-life indicate a value for life from conception to death, without judgment, free from self-righteousness, with mercy and grace running rampant. I’d like to see pro-life mean better public schools. I’d like to see pro-life mean that sick children are able to go to the doctor, regardless of how much their father makes and whether he qualifies for company sponsored healthcare. I’d like for pro-life to mean that hungry children are fed. I’d like to see pro-life supporters do such a good job of caring for those who are already born that no woman ever feels the need to have an abortion ever again.