On the March

As many youth and adults take to the streets of our Nation’s Capital and many of our Nation’s cities, and many of us raise our thoughts and prayers toward those who are able to do so from the comfort of our own homes or offices, I would like to raise awareness about a particular article I came across in Crisis Magazine. The article talks about an encounter with one of our current presidential hopefuls and Blessed, soon to be saint, Mother Teresa. In this encounter, Mother Teresa is asked by Hillary Clinton, then First Lady of the United States, “Why do you think we haven’t had a woman as president yet?” Mother Teresa is said to have answered without pause or hesitation, “Because she has probably been aborted.” Quite an incredible and courageous - some would say arrogant - response from a guest of the White House, but then again, saints are well known to speak truth to power.

I know that some of you will balk at the title of the publication. I know some of you will think, "Why the sole focus on one issue within the pro-life movement?" I know some of you will think this post is opinionated garbage that does nothing but judge and condemn rather than uplift or do anything positive. Some of you will wonder why a man has anything to say about this issue. But, my answer to these objections and sentiments is this. It is time for us to lead with love, to care for the least among us, and to preserve and protect the sacred human dignity of those it is deemed legal to kill. Sure there are other issues of the pro-life movement that are incredibly important; however, the only one that I know which has unapologetically taken the lives of over 54 - 57 million Americans - statistics vary depending upon source - has to stop.

We have many social justice movements in our society, many which give just focus to different populations which are marginalized, unjustly persecuted and prosecuted, and prevented from development and justice. This cause, namely the anti-abortion movement, is no different. I am a pro-life person who takes wholeheartedly the mantle of Joseph Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago who advocated for a womb to tomb approach and his “Seamless Garment of Life” ; however, that does not mean that one issue takes a back seat to another or that all issues need to be equally represented. To insist upon this does not make much sense. When advocating for a cause or an issue, one advocates for the most immediate and egregious of injustices first while holding true to the others. If you forgive the sloppy analogy, a triage center is setup to heal and stabilize the most distressed among the patient population first while working toward the health and wellbeing of the other patients seeking care in due time and in proportionality. The anti-abortion cause is no different.

If one looks at the anti-abortion cause a bit more deeply it touches so poignantly many of the other causes, protests, advocacy groups in American society. If you want to participate in "Black Lives Matter," how better than to stand for Black Lives then at their conception - Over 36% of the Black female population have procured an abortion, and average of 1,876 aborted a day according to BlackGenocide.org and other sites. If you advocate for social justice and particularly advocate for those who find themselves in the cycle of poverty, there is a direct correlation to poverty and abortion. As an article entitled “Poverty and Abortion: A Vicious Cycle” by the USCCB points out, a disproportional amount of women below or at the national poverty line seek out abortions. So if one advocates for a preferential option for the poor, what more preference and care could be shown than for the care of, the protection of, and the maturity of those who are the most vulnerable among us?

The last point raises perhaps one of the most poignant and important critiques of the anti-abortion movement. All to often, those of us who are anti-abortion are critiqued for saying no to abortion and then failing to provide for or help to secure adequate support for expectant mothers and their children. This is, in some cases, a very valid critique. As folks advocating for the fundamental right to life, we have to make sure that when that life comes into the world, there is a support system for him/her. It is absolutely essential to not only advocate for the birth of the innocent child, but to help that new child have the proper support and care when he or she comes into the world. This happens by setting up homes for expectant mothers and their children, providing food, shelter, and clothing for both the mother and child or children. Helping to educate and uplift the mother and her support system so she can provide for herself and those she has given life to. Following through with medical care and parental education to help the mother learn how to properly take care of their child, as well as sometimes helping the mother navigate the adoption process if that be her choice. Being anti-abortion does not stop with the birth of a child, it continues as we foster a culture of life which preserves, protects, educates, and procures a meaningful and full life for mother and child. When we can actualize this, we have become truly pro-life.