Be Bold: Be Pro-life

Two weekends ago I held my cousin’s five-week old baby.  And I saw God.  Her smallness, warmth, and softness, quiet breathing, and tiny hands and feet, completely innocent and seemingly perfect…how can this not be evidence of an all-powerful, compassionate, and loving Creator and Father?  Holding her reminded me of just how precious life is.  What a gift this moment was, to be reminded of the value and inherent dignity of all life, from the womb to the tomb.  How can anyone look at a baby and think that, months or weeks before birth, it would be acceptable to discard his or her life in the name of “choice” or “women’s rights”?  It’s 2022 and I can’t believe our country is having this conversation.  I am deeply saddened that we live in a world where life doesn’t matter to so many people.
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Since the draft of the Supreme Court opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was leaked last month, much of our country has become angrier than ever.  People have become ruthless and extremely brutal over the prospect of Roe v. Wade being overturned.  There are so many lies and misconceptions being spread by abortion supporters.  The lies and false information keep spreading because they are shouting and screaming.  They are shouting so loudly that they can’t hear the truth about life and the pro-life movement.  And the crazy thing is, there are a whole lot of Christians who either don’t seem to care or who are on the wrong side of the issue.  Abortion is not merely a religious issue.  In reality, everyone should be pro-life, regardless of their religious beliefs.  But, as Christians, one cannot profess to believe in God, while also denying the evil of abortion.  It doesn’t make any sense. 

I don’t remember the first time I learned about abortion or the first time that I really thought about it.  The first real memory I can recall is from when I was 15 and a freshman in high school.  I was on a hike at High Cliff State Park, with a group of other high schoolers and adults, training for a trip to Colorado.  We were standing in a circle at the mid-way point of our hike.  We went around the circle sharing prayer intentions and I remember praying for an end to abortion.  From that moment on, my passion for the pro-life cause has only increased and intensified.

It can be scary to share our pro-life beliefs.  But we must draw the courage and strength from God to share the truth about the beauty and dignity of all human life.  We hear the same worn out pro-abortion phrases and slogans over and over.  “My body, my choice.”  “Abortion is healthcare.”  “No uterus, no opinion.”  “Women have the right to choose/control their own bodies.”  “Pro-lifers are only pro-birth.”  “It’s not a baby, it’s a clump of cells.”  “The baby might end up in foster care or grow up in poverty.”  And the list goes on and on.  But there is not one single argument for abortion that even comes close to being valid.  We often hear various euphemisms and off-topic issues that are used when discussing abortion.  These distract from the actual issue.  But the simple truth is that abortion violently ends an innocent human life and that is never acceptable in any circumstances.  We don’t have to have the answers to all of the world’s problems before standing up for the unborn.

God created you in His image.  He created you with a purpose and with a voice.  How are you using the gift of life that He has given you?  Regardless of what happens with the law, babies need your voice and women in unplanned pregnancies need your help and support.  We have love and truth on our side, and that will save lives and change hearts.

“Christ needs you to enlighten the world and to show it the "path to life". The challenge is to make the Church’s "yes" to Life concrete and effective. The struggle will be long, and it needs each one of you. Place your intelligence, your talents, your enthusiasm, your compassion and your fortitude at the service of life!”  (St John Paul II).

Shameless plug about Biking for Babies!  B4B is an organization whose mission is to “renew the culture of life one pedal stroke and one pregnancy resource center at a time.”  Want to support women in unplanned pregnancies and their babies?  Donate to Biking for Babies to support the 56 pregnancy resource centers the missionaries are partnered with and to help renew the culture of life!  My fundraising goal as a 2022 missionary is $5,000! 
Link: https://bikingforbabies.com/missionary/katie-wanek-2/