Dear Friends,

This past Sunday at church, a couple spoke about a ministry they are a part of.  The name of it was similar to a separate pro-life ministry I am familiar with, and at lunch that day, I brought up the pro-life ministry and what it is about.  It is active during the summer, when young adults from all over the country walk from the west coast to Washington, DC.  The groups stop at different towns and speak in churches about the pro-life cause.  I mentioned how a couple of my friends who participated in this ministry three summers ago faced a lot of angry responses from people who saw them walking down the road wearing white t-shirts bearing just seven letters:  PRO LIFE.

One of the other girls spoke up at this point, mentioning that it must be really hard for women who have suffered from abortions to “be bombarded with people who get in their face about it.”  I clarified that the ministry I was speaking of in no way resembles the kind of people that everyone has heard about (or at least seen in Lifetime movies) who scream, yell, or say hurtful things.  In fact, they almost exclusively speak at churches that already identify as pro-life and have invited them to speak.  It is an entirely different facet of pro-life ministry, separate and distinct from those who participate in clinic ministry.

I was prompted to write this blog, however, because Sunday’s conversation brought to my attention one of the major problems that we, as a people who claim to be pro-life, still face in this imperative battle.  To be frank, the problem is that the large majority of people who identify as pro-life are only nominally so.  Or, as others have termed it, we are the “silent majority.”  Or perhaps we fall into that middle ground where many pro-choicers and pro-lifers share an almost identical conviction.  “I would never get an abortion, but I won’t go so far as to say it is wrong.”  On top of this is the idea that is promulgated that abortion-clinic ministry consists primarily of insensitive extremists who don’t take into consideration the woman or what she might be feeling.

This is perhaps the most prominent reason given by people who are “silently” pro-life as to why they are not more vocal about their convictions.  It also seems to be the thought of those who are on the fence.  It was certainly a lie that I bought into hook, line, and sinker when I was pro-choice.  It was also a lie that I brought up time and time again when arguing against pro-lifers, regardless of the fact that I had never witnessed for myself anyone who acted like that.  I had heard about such situations from someone who heard it from someone who heard it from someone else… you know the drill.  And I repeated it as if it were fact, because that is the way that the media portrays those who are active in pro-life ministry.

Now that I have been involved in abortion-clinic ministry—which is primarily quiet prayer and handing out pamphlets with abortion alternatives—I can say with confidence that I have never witnessed anyone who even so much as raised their voices at any woman, let alone screamed, yelled, or name-called.  I have stood outside those doors and seen the hurting women, and condemnation is the furthest thing from my mind.  The pro-life ministry is about preventing the taking of innocent lives, but it certainly doesn’t end there.  It is also a ministry of healing, forgiveness, and hope of recovery for the women, because an abortion does not involve just one victim, but two.  Many women—especially those who are young—are talked into believing that abortion is their only option, that there isn’t really a life that will be ended, or that a child will ruin their lives.  Essentially, whether it is emotionally, psychologically or even under the pressure of threats, women are often coerced into abortions.

While I will not go so far as to say that everyone ought to be actively involved in pro-life ministry, I do want everyone to consider a few things.  First, I ask that those of you who are in that middle ground I mentioned, please have the courage to consider becoming 100% pro-life.  I know from experience how hard it is to take a stand on such a sensitive topic.  It is most certainly not easy, and it is even harder when the false image of pro-lifers as screaming, flame-breathing dragons is continuously spoken of as if it were fact.  That brings me to the second thing I ask.  Please do not encourage this misleading image of the pro-life ministry.  If you are anything like I was, you may be repeating or affirming this lie despite the fact that you’ve never actually stood outside—or inside—an abortion clinic.  This doesn’t mean that there aren’t condemning voices out there, because there are, but I am convinced by personal experience that they are a very small minority.  Also, the more people that speak out for the pro-life cause in love, the harder it will be for people to continue to promote the false generalization that pro-lifers are “hateful” or “condemning” or “insensitive”.

Lastly, I challenge each person reading this to truly consider what it means to be pro-life.  If you already know that abortion is wrong, ask God for a deep and thorough understanding of why it is wrong.  Ask Him to help you to reflect on the dignity of the human person, so that you might let go of all insecurities on the topic of abortion and be able to speak on behalf of the cause of life.  Most important, if you’re well-versed on all of these things, ask the Holy Spirit to guide and direct your conversation when speaking up for life, so that people will know of God’s love for them by the words that we, as pro-lifers, choose.

“If I speak in tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging symbol…Be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong.  Let all that you do be done in love.” 1 Corinthians 13:1 & 16:13-14

Love in Christ,

-Emily