Today is the March for Life.
As Christians, we are called to be life-giving. Imitators of the Father, who breathed life into creation. Disciples of Christ, who grants new life through his death and resurrection. Partners with the Spirit, who enlivens and empowers our bodies and souls.
Today we celebrate life. We should not cheapen or minimize what it is to be pro-life by equating it with a single political position.
When I say I am pro-life, I mean to say I am pro-all-life.
I say with Father James Martin, “I am not only for the dignity of the human being from the moment of conception, but also for the dignity of the human being until the natural end of life. For life does not end with birth. A person who is truly pro life is pro all life, pro every stage of life, pro every stage of life for every person. For all life is sacred, because all life is created by God.”
Being pro-life means I am for the protection of the lives of unborn babies. And I am for the protection of those babies—male or female, black or white, Muslim or Christian—for the entirety of their lives.
Being pro-life means I support the right to health care, because it sustains life. I support the payment of a living wage for the same reason.
Being pro-life means I want all people everywhere to be provided with basic needs like nutritious food, clean water, and adequate shelter.
Being pro-life means I will pay into a welfare system and nonprofit programming that keeps the poor and hungry fed and housed.
Being pro-life means I support homes and organizations that provide living assistance to the elderly.
Being pro-life means I oppose the death penalty, torture, brutality, and militarization. I also oppose indiscriminate weapons like drones, cluster bombs, and biological and chemical weapons.
Being pro-life means I stand against the unjust mass incarceration of people, and the abuse or exploitation of prisoners.
Being pro-life means I speak in opposition to slavery, human trafficking, child soldiering, and all exploitative practices that steal the dignity and humanity of all persons.
Being pro-life means I oppose the destruction and contamination of creation.
Being pro-life means I joyfully say black lives matter. Migrant and minority lives matter too.
Being pro-life means I care for the homeless and the uprooted, the disabled and the widowed and the orphaned, the lost and the lonely.
Being pro-life means I will love my enemies and pray for those who persecute me.
You have articulated every item which should define an individual who identifies as pro-life. One cannot claim the mantle of pro-life if they do not also embrace the principles you have outlined. This is where the political use of the pro-life movement has failed. The wedge used to cleave off a segment of the voting population for politically expedient reasons has failed because it has exposed the hypocrisy of those willing to exploit the use of this blunt tool. The inhumanity and malice of denying food, housing, healthcare, and education to those who come into the world as innocents is appalling. The embrace of willful ignorance about the state of our climate and the refusal to do anything to mitigate our contribution to a warming world whose impacts will be felt first by the poorest among us is appalling. The perpetuation of endless war to enrich but a few yet denies life and a peaceful existence to millions is appalling. The rise of the for-profit incarceration state and use of the death penalty which presents no conflict of conscience is appalling. We are not the humanitarian, compassionate society our potential demands. Greed, power, and corruption have overtaken our leadership. I appreciate that you concentrate your lens on the issues that define what it means to be fully human and I hope that your platform continues to grow. You are a truth teller.
“We are not the humanitarian, compassionate society our potential demands.” So true. You articulate the need for consistency, and the lack of it, so well.
I never heard of the phrase “for-profit incarceration state” ? Please explain. Thanks!
I am referring to the explosion of corporate owned, for-profit prisons that are replacing our old state run prisons. In order to ensure revenue to their shareholders they have to remain at capacity. The court system is obliging them by filling them with poor people who cannot post bail or are unable to pay fines/penalties and a steady stream of immigrants whose crime is seeking employment to provide for their families or to ensure their safety.
Thanks!
His line here, “When I say I am pro-life, I mean to say I am pro-all-life,” and then his going through a laundry list of all we should be doing to help people “post-birth” – mostly involving government – is rather an old saw.
While on the one hand, it is clear that as Christians we must be concerned with human life at all stages and help wherever we can. But putting issues such as social welfare on the same plain as the murder of pre or partial birth children is obviously morally skewed and wrong. It actually diminishes “Pro-Life” as a cause and says something about his commitment to it. It’s also very telling that he chooses to quote James Martin here, who is occasionally in trouble with the Catholic Church for teachings in the same vein.