What does being "pro-life" really look like?

The following is a post I wrote for The Expectations Project.

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)

In American politics – and especially coming off of the frenzied presidential election season – the faith community gets played by all sides. And almost no phrase is used to court or manipulate the faith community more than the phrase “pro-life.”

Over the past couple years, I’ve had several experiences that have caused me to reflect on what it means to be pro-life. I’ve seen that being truly pro-life does not mean simply advocating for the reversal of Roe v. Wade. I’ve come to believe that I cannot be comprehensively pro-life unless I also choose to continually advocate for the lives of those children after they are born.  I must ensure they will have the chance to live the full lives God desires for them. If we are to call ourselves pro-life, we must be pro-life in every area of our lives.

Yes, there are several verses in God’s Word where He speaks about knowing us in the womb (and that is a wonderful, miraculous thing). But there are also hundreds of verses that talk about God’s love for His children once we are outside the womb. God makes it very clear to us what it means to be pro-life by His standards:

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:8-9)

So if we advocate for the voiceless in the womb, but when they are born to a mother who does not want them – or who is not equipped to love and provide for them the way God desires – and we are not there to advocate for them then, can we truly call ourselves pro-life, by God’s own standards?

God has called me into a situation this past year where I’ve learned more of what it looks like to live out my pro-life beliefs according to God’s standards. I’ve gotten to walk with a woman through the darkness that almost resulted in her terminating her pregnancy, I saw how it was God working through our relationship, and the community of support our church provided her, that led her to keep her baby. I’ve gotten to see God’s life-giving power begin to change her life – again, mostly through the community of people from our church taking the time to invest in her and love her. Just recently I got to hold her little baby in my arms, look into his face, and reflect on God’s amazing grace, lived out through a few truly pro-life relationships, that got him here. It was not simply saying we were pro-life that brought him to us. It was God’s love lived out in our lifestyles, in our willingness to enter into the tough, often exhausting relationship that has helped both mother and baby begin to enter into the full life God has for them.

And being pro-life does not stop here. This is just the beginning. It is through continuing to invest in her and her little boy, being present in their lives, advocating for them, supporting them, walking with them, teaching them, and learning from them, that I am able to truly call myself pro-life.

Which is why I firmly believe education is a pro-life issue. One of the most powerful and effective ways I can advocate for my friend is by helping to ensure that her children attend schools that give them the support and education that will help them break cycles of abuse, neglect, and poverty (the kind of poverty that causes children to have almost no quality of life, that makes abortion seem like the best option for a poor woman facing an unexpected pregnancy). Through receiving a quality education, through having teachers who invest in them, through having a school that meets their needs, my friend’s children will have the chance to live more of the full life God intended for them – and the full life my friend might have had growing up if she had had more education advocates.

I keep thinking about the schools she went to – what if there were programs in place or a couple teachers who had the time, training, or resources to invest in her – how different her life might have been. I believe that through our schools, we can provide what my friend needed when she was 12 – we can provide that mentor, that teacher, that coach, that program that will catch others like her and give them a chance to live up to their God-given potential.

The Church is able to be pro-life in a way the rest of the world can’t. We are able to bring a deeper understanding of the value of the life of every child. We are also able to bring a deeper understanding of the true, full Life found in Christ, and the passion and commitment the knowledge of this Life brings to our work. We must not let ourselves be restricted to a narrow vision or what being pro-life looks like – rather, we must be present in our schools, and use our voices to advocate for the public education reform these kids and families desperately need. If we don’t, I do not think we can truly call ourselves pro-life.