What Does It Mean?

I'm pro-life. I've spent a lot of time considering the meaning of that statement. It's much more complicated than being anti-abortion to me. I wrote about this topic once before many years ago and stepped on some toes (which was not my intention). My heart aches for the children lost and for the great tragedy that is abortion. And I am thankful for those serving on the front-line of this important issue.

When we were first married, I became a crisis pregnancy counselor. It was hard. I learned a lot. My commitment to adoption was strengthened through that work. I also saw the absolute necessity of supporting a woman beyond her decision to parent. 

I believe being pro-life goes way past a decision to give birth. It speaks to the preservation of life throughout life. 

We can't truly be pro-life without asking ourselves some really difficult questions. How will we be involved beyond birth? How will we support women and children and families in need? How will we reduce the number of children in foster care? How will we serve the marginalized in our society? 

I'm still figuring this out myself. What does it really mean to be pro-life?

A few ways to be pro-life beyond the anti-abortion movement are:

- Be an organ donor. 

- Be swabbed for the bone marrow registry.
- Give blood.

- Support families who are fostering, involved with Safe Families, and adopting.

- Consider being one of those families. 

- Start a clothing closet for children in need. 

- Donate to your local food pantry and work there.

- Be a mentor for kids aging out of foster care. 

- Be a mentor for Safe Families.

- Volunteer as a Big Brother or Sister.

- Volunteer at your local hospital.

- Volunteer at a homeless shelter.

- Collect items for shelters.

- Love your neighbors. 

Perhaps at the heart of it all is compassion. Seeing, loving, and serving all people. It most certainly will take us out of our comfort zone, it will be hard, it will be inconvenient, and it will stretch us. But I submit that to be truly pro-life, we must support life from conception to grave.