It is pretty common for a pro-life advocate to hear people say things like: “You can’t be pro-life and still accept ______” or “If you’re pro-life, then you should also stand for _______.” Often these objections are referring to hot-button political topics like capital punishment, conflicts with other nations, or how best to lend a hand to the impoverished.
While these are important issues and should be discussed in their own contexts, it is important to understand that they are not essential to the pro-life position.
Often people use statements like these because they want to question the definition of “pro-life.” The idea of being pro-life is a beautiful idea, but even the best ideas need to be protected from being bogged down with too many extra things attached to them. Because of the baggage that some have attached to the term pro-life, it has lost much of its meaning to a lot of people. Because of this confusion it is important that we know exactly what we mean when we call ourselves pro-life.
A good definition of what it means to be pro-life is simply this: Being pro-life means to be against the unjust taking of human life.
It is important to understand that the term pro-life does not necessarily mean that we are always against the taking of every life ever. There are many pro-life people who believe that a life may be justly taken under certain circumstances. Although some pro-life individuals may believe that taking any life is always wrong, there are many who do not. What both of these viewpoints have in common, however, is that they both oppose the unjust taking of a human life. What we can be sure of is that the pro-life position opposes abortion because it unjustly takes a human life.
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It is also vital to understand that being against abortion does not mean that we are against abortion-minded people. The aim of the pro-life position is not to attack people, but to preserve and value life. The reason we choose to identify ourselves as pro-life instead of just anti-abortion is that the pro-life position goes beyond just opposing abortion, but focuses on preserving life.
It is a position that seeks not only to be against what is wrong, but to be actively striving for what is right. Our aim should be not to condemn people because of their actions, but to love people in spite of them.
At Save the Storks we passionately believe in rescuing the unborn from abortion, but beyond that our aim is to love and to care for the women and everyone else affected by abortion.
A common question that people ask is: why do many pro-life advocates focus more on abortion than other justice issues? It is true that there are a whole host of other issues which are worthy of our attention and involvement. No pro-life advocate would deny that abortion is not the only big issue facing our generation and many are passionate about changing the world in other ways besides abortion.
What it really boils down to is not that pro-life advocates who devote their time to their cause don’t care about other issues, but just that they prioritize their time to match their vision.
To be pro-life is to be against the unjust taking of human life. This is why we oppose abortion, not because it is the only instance where human life is unjustly taken, but because it is one of the most widespread and because those affected are the most defenseless. The simple fact is that we are all limited by time and resources and are just not able to give 100% of ourselves to every worthy cause out there.
At Save the Storks we choose to focus on rescuing mothers and their children from abortion because it is what we feel God has laid on our hearts to do, not because we think it is the only worthy cause. Ultimately, the heartbeat of the pro-life movement is to show love and compassion to everyone.
There are many things which can distract us and cause the issue to become confusing, but really what the pro-life position is all about is protecting the lives of the innocent. Our aim should then be to protect children and their beautiful mothers from abortion and to love and care for them in whatever ways we can.
That love and compassion is our heartbeat here at Save the Storks, and that is what we hope you will partner with us in showing to everyone affected by abortion.
