I woke up today thinking about people. When I think of the world in terms of millions, the signficance of ‘ 1 ’ can easily be overlooked. For some reason this led me to thinking about abortion and I felt compelled to share my thoughts with all you beautiful people.
I am discussing this today because our bumper-sticker dialogue isn’t working so well. We read a “pro-life” or “pro-choice” sticker on the car next to us and then steal a judgmental glance at the driver as we pass them.
And so we sit in our own little cars, going our own little ways. Today I want to get out of my car and get into yours where we can really talk. Can you handle that?
You see, I am pro-life. Half of you are cheering and others are gasping. I am sure I will say something everyone disagrees with at some point in this post. I believe in you. I believe you can handle that.
But unlike what is often portrayed, my reasons may be different.
I am not pro-life because my church told me to be. I didn’t drink kool aid of any sort. My beliefs are my beliefs & am not speaking on behalf or at the request of anyone else.
I am not pro-life because I am a Republican. Guess what? I am not a Republican. I’m an independent that votes on a case by case basis. So, there ya go.
I am not pro-life because I want to punish people who have sex. To be honest, I do not expect people who do not share my faith to share my moral values. An 18 year old girl who doesn’t believe in God doesn’t really care what He says is best for her. I get that.
I do not think that people who are pro-choice hate babies. To be frank, that is really stupid. I have a lot of friends who are pro-choice simply because they don’t believe the government’s role is making personal decisions for others. I see their point.
I am not pro-life because I don’t understand rape. I have several friends who have been victims of rape and the severity of what they go through is not lost on me. I realize that to ask them to birth a child from that assault sounds like way too much to ask. Especially if their life is at risk.
So, why am I pro-life?
I am pro-life because I believe that every life matters. The lives we planned and the ones we never saw coming. I am pro-life for the same reason I believe a Palestinian life has the same value as a Israeli life. Jesus isn’t biased toward gender, geography, race or religion. Every person matters to God and therefore they matter to me.
I am pro-life despite the fact that I don’t have all the answers. The complexities of what would happen to our economy or our environment if every baby ever conceived was born…yeah, that is no small thing.
I am pro-life for the same reason I support rights for immigrants, healthcare for uninsured, providing aid for those in poorer nations, financial assistance for unemployed in our own nation…those are complex issues too. Not easily resolved or funded. However, I care about them because there are people behind the “issues”.
I believe a child’s value goes far beyond simply having the right to be born. They should also have access to good education, nutritious food, healthcare and a secure home. Those things matter too. Life is worth fighting for from conception to final breath.
It seems I would be amiss if I were to ask a 20 year old to not abort her baby and then deny her the healthcare and assistance it would take to raise it. My opinions may not be very popular, I know.
Also, chances are that someone reading this has had an abortion. Don’t beat yourself up. Wanna know why? Because YOU matter too. And God loves you. Seriously, He does.
I don’t know how to pay for all these people and their needs. But what kind of nation are we if we value people primarily based on how much they will cost us? Now, I’m not dumb , naïve to the scale of all this or think that the government can pay for every person and every need. It isn’t realistic to ask the government to handle it all. To be honest, I don’t know how we solve this problem either. Our systems are quite broken & maybe it isn’t solely the government’s responsibility anyway. One thing I know about God is that He always has a plan. Which is why I pray a lot. About everything.
I know that God made people and they have worth. If we hold to this conviction, despite all of the challenges, then somehow we can help others. Maybe it is one by one. Neighbor by neighbor. But if every life matters, then that is a cost we are willing to take on ourselves. Isn’t that what the Church is for anyway? Hands & feet & such?
For me, unborn babies qualify as people. Maybe they do or don’t to you. Lets talk anyway.
We try to solve issues like abortion and immigration by talking to people who have the exact same perspective that we do. Which, if you haven’t noticed, gets us nowhere.
So, I’m ignoring bumper stickers and sticking my neck out there. I am not 100% right and you are not 100% wrong. We have some big problems right now & they are worth talking about.
Lark & Bloom 
Very well writen. We would be freinds in real life. I just know it. Not because we would agree on everything, but because I’d be able to have highly intelligent conversations with you and I KNOW I’d learn something. 🙂 Your adorable chic-ness doesn’t hurt either. 🙂
Michele, we would TOTALLY be friends. I was just on your blog earlier this evening. Seriously hope we get to have coffee someday!
We might need a day with 3 meals + coffee breaks in between! 🙂 Where are you again? I should know. I know. 😉
Hi. I just recently found and subscribed to your blog and I am loving your point of view. It would be so wonderful if people with different opinions on emotional subjects could have peaceful, open conversations. It’s hard for some people to express themselves without losing their cool. I always think of a good point the next day, when it’s too late. The world could use more people “getting in the car” with someone with a different bumper sticker! Thank you for your inspired ace creative way of sharing your views.
So nice to meet you! Thinking of something brilliant to say after the moment has passed…story of my life! Thanks for reading.
This was beautifully expressed. Frankly, I think all humans are “pro-life”, so the political conflict is a manufactured one. Unfortunately, depending on where you exist on the scale of a Capitalist economy, not every child can be either saved or supported. Women are forced each day into “me and the family, or the baby” decisions. That’s a terrible, regrettable tragedy, but solving it will require enormous changes in the way we live and compete for resources. Until anyone poor has the same options as the rich, abortion will be a necessary option, and as long as it is, it should be as medically safe as our technology allows. Sex education from childhood on, and universally available contraception would help a lot. That’s what other countries do, and their abortion rates are far lower than ours.
Hey Mikey. Good points. You are right that solving the “me and the family, or the baby” decisions will require enormous changes. I’ve heard some really interesting discussions lately regarding the role contraception can play in stopping abortion. Thanks for sharing!
So very, very good.
As always, thank you!
Thank you for helping me understand how to voice my opinion and beliefs on this topic respectfully and to the point. I respect you for putting yourself “out there” and trying to change the world. Brava!!!!!!
Thanks Gina! It does feel risky to talk about this stuff, but so necessary. Thanks for reading!
Very well-written and you make great points. This should result in getting some good conversations started.
I hope so!
Are you me?
Umm… I think I am a few kids shy of being you. 🙂
Such beautiful words friend!
Thanks Sarah!
What a beautifully written post. So much grace in your words.
Thank you Angela! I appreciate your sweet words.
Wow. Amazing. You have a true gift for articulating in way that is calming, but fierce. I have kept silent for years on the subject of healthcare because I couldn’t put it into words wisely. When you said the words, how do we stand as a nation when we judge a persons worth on how much they cost us….my jaw dropped. That was my feelings exactly. I can’t have a in-depth uplifting debate with you, because we would be in the same car 🙂
Thanks Chris! But, I think in your case we are on the same bike…
Love this post. Thank you for sharing.
McCall, thanks for stopping by. I appreciate you reading!
Love your thoughts and I feel that way too! All life is precious. My sweet little 4th has Down syndrome. There’s a startling statistic out there that 92% of women abort their babies upon finding out he/she has DS. Ohhh, breaks my heart!!
Lindley, are you serious? I didn’t know that. Thanks for letting us know. And kiss your sweet little #4 for me 🙂
Hey cousin – Love your insight here. As you know, I am a Preacher’s kid – but what you don’t know is that I had an abortion – in 1984. The reason was that it was inconvenient to have a baby. I actually was on birth control and it happened anyway. My husband is older and didn’t want to start a family over again. I had no idea it was wrong in God’s eyes…I’d never heard it discussed. Maybe it was just something I’d never encountered – or maybe people weren’t speaking out about it then. I was really more concerned about it being done safely. I wasn’t ashamed that I was going to do it – it was just what needed to be done. The people at the clinic were friendly, kind, encouraging. Frankly, so were the friends I had talked to about it. It wasn’t a difficult decision. We drove to the clinic in Kansas City and within an or or two, it was done.
However…from that moment forward, I ached – my heart mourned the loss of that baby like nothing you can imagine. And after the abortion, I started seeing people in the church start to talk about how they were against abortion – and they had prayer and protests…and I felt shame…deep shame. I knew I had killed my baby, no one had to tell me that – and I ached because of that – but now I would never be able to talk to anyone about it. What would they say if I admitted to this? EVERY, EVERY, EVERY DAY for years upon years upon years, I felt the heartbreak of the loss….and the shame of having done it. More than 25 years I carried that.
It wasn’t until we moved to Mexico that I was able to tell my story to my pastor and his wife, and thus begin the healing. 10 years later, I am grateful for that gift. God has shown me His mercy and grace and healed me, healed my heart. As a person who has been there, I have been able to share my story with young teens – and I know it has impacted them for good. But I’ve also been able to share with believers just how important it is to just love people through this – not to make those snap judgements – but to try to open doors of conversation. Being able to talk about it helps the healing.
I really believe that a big reason God put some of the stuff in the Bible that He did was to spare us the pain. I didn’t have to be influenced by media or anyone around me – I just knew the heartache of loss as soon as it was done.
I’m sharing all this because I’ve been on this side of it – but we as the body of Christ too often have hidden these things and have taken hard stands on things and have forgotten to love others through it all. And…. because people need to know that there is forgiveness and grace and at the cross.
Thank you for sharing your heart.
Prior to the Depression our government did not take care of the populous the way they do now. When someone was in need they went to A. their family or B. their friends or C. their neighbors or D. the Church. People have forgotten that. I volunteer at a church where we help people in the congregation as well as in our community. Honest, and even dishonest, people who might need help with a energy bill or a rent payment. We also get calls from many people who are living solely off state wellfare and EVERY MONTH call around to churches to get money to pay for bills. They will not work even though they can. If they can’t get money from us then they will just call whatever church is next on the list. Then they do it again next month. It’s really sad and frustrating,as well as eye opening, to see and hear all this. I do believe though that it is not the government’s job to be a parent to everyone. It puts a burden on the people. (Good example of this is looking into government issued food stamp and food card abuse. We had a huge amount of abuses of those cards that rack up into the millions here in WA State last year.). I believe that people should help others like they once did and the Church should walk out their faith and help those in need with no help from the government. The word says that if you give, cheerfully, then God will give you more to give (2 Cor. 9:7-12).
I hear what you say completely. There are many people that leach on the systems in place to help needy people. However, sometimes, even though it seems like most of the time, this is just a small group. So should we deny care to people simply because there are a few that abuse it? I follow a God who’s people in mass were chose evil more than they chose good. So he gave his best, so that those people that rejected him could have more. I chose to follow his example and be willing to give my best so that people that reject me can have more. We regularly have people call our church and say they are stuck and need gas money. We feed them, and take time to love on them. They may be being dishonest in the moment, but no matter, the presence of God touched them in that moment. I am not responding to say you are wrong, but only to think about it at a different angle.