by Rev. Jeff Duncan
So often, only one side of an argument is entertained. We all understand the maxim, “The squeaky wheel gets the oil!” Saying something more often and more loudly, even when it is untrue, is one way people of the opposing viewpoint make their argument and gain adherents.
Case in point, the “Pro-choice movement” has consistently and loudly championed one argument for abortion as:
“Pro-lifers don’t care about women, and they don’t care about babies once they are born. They have no right to speak against abortion unless they are willing to care for these children.”
This argument is recorded on the website: www.epm.org/resources/2010/Feb/18/39-major-prochoice-arguments-and-their-refutations/
First, anyone who recognizes that abortion takes the life of an innocent child always has the right to speak up for that child and speak out against the act that directly harms that child! Abortion kills human beings who are loved by their Creator. God has chosen them for life in His gracious activity of conceiving them in the womb. What God has created and chosen to love in His Son Jesus Christ for eternity let us never bring to an abrupt end by our own actions, disregarding what God has chosen for Himself.
Second, caring for women is provided through many positive instances of support and concern for those vulnerable to abortion. Ever since Lutherans For Life took to the For Life field, our constituent members have opened hearts and pocketbooks to care for the woman who is pregnant. We have paid for pre-natal care. We have supported pregnancy resource centers that provide parenting classes and maternity care. We have supported and encouraged homes where pregnant women who are kicked out of households or lack support of partners and family could be safe, warm, and loved while delivering their child into this world. Many of these homes also provide a time of transition after birth. They support education, job training, and financial planning to give this woman and her new child a fresh start in moving forward in their lives.
Finally, caring for babies is at the heart of all that Lutherans For Life encourages and accomplishes.
Those same pregnancy resource centers provide diapers, daycare, and support for parents caring for their newborn babies. Additionally, LFL encourages support for adoption agencies and adoptive families. This helps the birth mothers or couples who cannot keep their child while also providing a loving family to that child in need of caring parents.
Let me give a concrete example of why this “Pro-choice” argument holds no water. Here is what one Life Chapter has done specifically.
First, someone interested at the chapter level took classes in sidewalk counseling. Through this they became sensitive and trained to meet the needs of the abortion minded woman (and her partner) as they came to an abortion center. Through a caring conversation and explanation of help that would be provided, a connection was made, and a life was saved. A baby was born and not aborted.
Help didn’t stop there. The mother was supported in her education goals. Some of the congregations donated funds to help the mother complete her career training. As she was involved in career training, members of the LFL Chapter and of the constituent congregations opened their homes to provide daycare and support. As the child and their siblings grew older, the whole family was invited to church. Invitations proved fruitful and relationships flourished. Eventually, baptisms happened for the children of the family. This provides not just a “this life” perspective, but an eternal life perspective!
These children are not just cared for now in time, but by God for an eternity! What a wonderful blessing inclusion in the family of God obtains.
But help didn’t stop there either. As the children continued to grow, there was opportunity to support Christian school participation. Once again, the Life Chapter and constituent members and congregations could marshal the support and financial encouragement to meet the needs of this family. Through LFL Chapter support, not only was a child saved from an abortion provider’s scalpel, but this child was given eternal life in Baptism and funded with growth in wisdom and stature as their educational need was met.
Does this sound like “Pro-lifers” care nothing for the woman or the child once the baby is born?
Here is where we continue to encourage your support. Here is where you too can join in the work of Gospel-motivated voices for Life! Your Life Team or Life Chapter could duplicate this story over and over. Imagine the hundreds, maybe thousands, of babies across America who could not only see life but thrive in that life because of the support of For Life Lutherans in your congregations and communities.
Isn’t that a wonderful picture? Wouldn’t that be a worthy goal for your group to commit to in this coming year?
What do you need to see it to fruition? First, find out where the babies are destroyed in your community. Where is the building where babies are torn from wombs, or the abortion pill is distributed to those vulnerable to abortion in our society? Next, find out how you can support those already on the Frontlines in that setting. What groups are meeting the needs of abortion-minded women and couples? What gaps are aching to be filled? Where can your time and talents be best utilized? Then, go and fill those gaps! Get involved in saving lives and supporting those vulnerable to abortion in your community.
Finally, share the work you are doing with your congregation and Life Teams and Life Chapters. Celebrate the Gospel-motivated work for Life you are completing. Encourage the involvement of everyone, whether writing checks, authoring prayer cards, or skillfully navigating the sales of diapers and filling the supply chain abundantly. There is always work to be done, no matter how skillful or aged the hands. Find ways to share the load and give encouragement for others to join in the effort of saving and supporting life.
Prove the argument wrong in your community one life at a time!