On Exploiting Post-Abortion Grief

I’ve always had a bit of a fascination with the topic of post-abortion recovery. Too often, I think we put all of our energy into the ‘preventative’ side of pro-life ministry while almost completely neglecting the emotional fallout people got through after making the choice to kill their child. Obviously, we are concerned with saving the innocent lives of the unborn. And that absolutely needs to be primary. But the psychological state of mind people need to be in—in order to make the decision to abort—can’t be completely demonized. Far too often, women have simply bought into the lies that what they are doing isn’t just ‘not bad’, but probably the better, more humane choice for their child! Or should I say… for their “clump of fetal tissue”? Those who choose abortion are absolutely victims too. What bearing this has on the pro-life community might be a little sobering. How do we treat victims? Are we shaming and blaming more than seeking to build bridges? What is the proper response to demonstrate when one has the knowledge that someone has been through an abortion? One thing I would like to propose is that we make concerted efforts not to exploit grief. While there are a couple groups dedicated to helping pro-choice people make sense of their post-abortion experience… this topic is not dealt with extensively at the Pro-Choice water-coolers. Not by a long shot. You have to staunchly maintain the triviality of the decision to abort in order to keep selling it. This is why Planned Parenthood does not offer post-abortion counseling despite studies indicating the significant psychologically negative effects...

Abortion: A Biblical ‘Choice’?

There is a growing and alarming twist in the Pro-Choice narrative… and it’s about to spread like wildfire. Up until very recently, despite distorting the science and procedural facts of abortion by controlling the language used, abortion proponents have more or less left morality alone. In a post-Christian society, it’s been enough to wave the banner or progressivism and women’s rights… but they can never quite seem to fully eradicate the buzz of pesky Christians claiming that abortion is evil. Enter stage left: Willie J. Parker, M.D. As one of the last abortion providers in the state of Mississippi, Parker has been identified as a sort of moral crusader for abortion for the past few years giving interviews and even sermons about his conversion from pro-life views. And he’s now published a book: Life’s Work: a Moral Argument for Choice. “The protesters say they’re opposed to abortion because they’re Christian,” Parker says. “It’s hard for them to accept that I do abortions because I’m a Christian.” This book is going to used as a serious blow to pro-lifers who currently dominate the spiritual landscape relatively unchallenged.  Parker is both a doctor and a ‘Christian’, so the Appeal to Authority fallacy will be in full effect. In his recent interview with New York Times writer Ana Marie Cox, Dr. Parker discussed why he has converted to the view that providing abortions is compatible with his faith.  As is common with the pro-choice crowd, he shows off a bit of verbal gymnastics designed to woo readers with his intelligence rather than incite them to critical thinking. It’s easy to justify doing abortions when...

Alternative Facts: The “Pro-Choice” Stance

The following is a guest contribution by Luke Garrison from StepIntoTheRight.com. This January marked the 44th anniversary of the worst Supreme Court decision since Plessy vs Ferguson, Roe vs Wade. 7 of the 9 unelected human beings on the Court ruled that it is a Constitutional Right for a mother to kill her child, depending on location. One of the most consistently well-attended, and greatly ignored yearly protests, the March for Life, took place again on Friday, January 27th in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, President Trump re-signed into law Reagan’s policy of not providing federal funds to any international organization that kills babies, Paul Ryan is leading the charge to defund Planned Parenthood, and we’ve been promised a pro-life Supreme Court Justice (and the nomination of Neil Gorsuch appears to make good on this promise). All signs so far point to this administration being very against killing babies, and one of the most sure-fire ways to watch the Left lose their minds is to get in their way of killing babies. So why is it that those on the Left advocate so strongly for the “right” to kill babies? If you ask them, they’ll give you a plethora of meaningless answers including, but not limited to: “It’s no one’s business what I do with my body,” “It’s not murder because it’s just a bundle of cells that needs me to survive,” “Keep your rosaries off my ovaries,” “People will still do it whether it’s legal or not,” and the ultimate “Women’s Rights are Human Rights.” Let’s take a look at some of these arguments. Probably the loudest thing you’ve seen recently...
A Pre-Rally Pep Talk

A Pre-Rally Pep Talk

Sometimes it doesn’t feel worth it. When millions of protestors collectively gather this month at their respective capitols, we know not to expect a camera crew. We know the internet will ignore the story, the nightly news will be talking about the weather and latest police brutality and numbers of people purported to be at the marches wildly and deliberately underestimated. The average politician heading up the capitol steps for his daily duties will keep his eyes glued to his smartphone and avoid eye contact with the hoards of people. And commuters will simply get their GPS to reroute them to their destination where they won’t be impeded by a wall of pro-life people trying hard to make their message heard. No one’s fazed. And I ask all the disheartened protestors to consider: what are you doing this for? Why take your time and brave the elements year after year to hold signs, to pray, to gather in solidarity against the crime of abortion when it seems no one is listening? Have we as a cause, grown irrelevant? I think now, more than ever, we have to remember to keep our focus. We have to persevere knowing that the media never has and never will distill the full truth about reality. We don’t know whose hearts are touched and we don’t know who’s lives will be saved. Pro-lifers have been battling for decades now and there has been tremendous ground gained through various laws and provisions that make abortions more limited. There simply isn’t any room to back down. We know they aren’t. But as has been made abundantly...

3 Simple Ways to Have a Pro-Life Christmas

In the middle of the shopping and parties and baking as we get ready for the birth of the Divine Child at Christmas, I think it’s important to pause for a minute and reflect on some ways we can honor those who did not get a chance to be born. In all wars, we need to pause the fighting and propaganda to take just a minute to remember the fallen— in this case, those lost through the horrors of abortion. So I propose three easy things anyone can do to have a truly pro-life Christmas and honor the memory of our lost generations. In doing these, perhaps the most important thing to consider is the message we are giving our own children. Regardless of our instruction on the matter or our protests outside clinics or our dutiful donations we send off every month, children of pro-lifers are not necessarily guaranteed to follow in their parents’ convictions. But by somehow making the loss felt and the individual lives meaningful through simple, tangible means, our children may be nurtured in a very real way to consider the tragedy of abortion as a grave injustice against all human beings. 1- Light a candle on Christmas Eve and place it somewhere prominent as we wait for the birth of the Divine Child. Explain to your family that the candle symbolizes all those who never got to experience Christmas. No need to get into graphic detail or make it a macabre sentiment, just a simple light flickering in the home to be grateful for our own blessings and to remember those less fortunate. 2- Give...
Abortion Industry: The Misunderstood Victim?

Abortion Industry: The Misunderstood Victim?

If it’s on the internet, it must be true right? Most thinking people know this to be false, even if many, many people still fall prey to false statistics, misrepresented quotes and scientific “facts” that circle around cyber world every day. It’s easy to be skeptical of memes and Facebook photos. But the number of thinking people is reduced when ‘facts’ are peddled by presumably credible sources like “news agencies” or journalists. It’s just a pity that we lose brain cells sorting through this sort of drivel. Although Danielle Campoamor—a vocal, pro-choice freelance writer— begins her piece by raising some interesting points about social taboos in public discussion, she then devalues the entire thinking process by ending her piece with false statements like this: “Society has manipulated abortion and the way in which it is viewed, changing it from a medical procedure to an exhausted topic of debate.” Um, what? Abortion has always been a topic of debate and was never once in history left untouched as simply a “medical procedure.” Even the words by the majority opinion author of Roe vs. Wade (Justice Harry Blackmun) say as much in 1973: “We forthwith acknowledge our awareness of the sensitive and emotional nature of the abortion controversy, of the vigorous opposing views, even among physicians, and of the deep and seemingly absolute convictions that the subject inspires.” It was always considered much, much more than just a medical procedure even from its proponents. But that’s not the biggest piece of intellectual dishonesty in the article; it just gets worse from there. Campoamor sates, “Women’s bodies — in need of medical...