It’s a good time to be anti-abortion. Opposition to abortion has been on the rise for years and that only makes sense given that pro-life people aren’t killing their future advocates and science is on our side. Each year the March for Life has tens – probably hundreds – of thousands of people gather across the country to protest abortion. For the first time in the march’s history, the president addressed the rally in person at the 2018 edition. I say all of that to say that though abortion remains legal, there is reason for optimism.
That optimism is why it’s important that we stay ahead of the arguments being given in favor in abortion. We have truth and rightness on our side, but we have to be ready to defend it. So, in this article I want to turn our attention to one of the opposition’s favorite arguments to use these days, as scores of people tweeted it during the March for Life and continue to use it to attack pro-lifers.
“You’re not pro-life. You’re just pro-birth. You don’t care about those babies after they’re born.”
First of all, when we reframe that argument it perfectly captures the monstrosity of abortion. Even if it were true (and it’s not, as we’re about to see), what they’re saying is, “Pro-life people don’t do enough for those who are born, so we should be allowed to continue tearing the unborn limb from limb.”
Second, it’s just not true. Practicing Christians are more than twice as likely to adopt as are non-Christians. They are also more likely to be charitable. See how many children’s homes Christians have established and given their lives to supporting. Look up the hospitals in any given city and see how many of them have a religious name if you want to see how committed Jesus-believers are in providing healthcare. Consider all of the medical missions done to third-world countries in the name of Jesus. Still want to say that pro-life people don’t care about born humans?
“You’re not pro-life, you’re just pro-birth” makes a nice, easy-to-remember, easy-to-repeat quip, but it’s just not true. Any intellectually honest person would admit that anti-abortion people are some of the most pro-human people on earth. Keep looking for a good, pro-abortion argument. You’ll eventually find that there aren’t any, and hopefully you’ll have the courage to change your mind.
Two challenges for churches
Before I finish, though, I believe it’s important that we as Christians always strive to do better. Here are two ways we can do so:

  1. Adoption
    While Christians are more than twice as likely to adopt, our number is still only 5%. And while adoption isn’t something everyone can do, we can all work toward building a stronger culture of adoption in the church. After all, we ourselves are God’s adopted children (Ephesians 1:5) and caring for orphans is part of what God wants as a result of our religion (James 1:27).
    With adoption costs so high (literally tens of thousands of dollars), what if each of our congregations actively looked to sponsor strong Christian families who look into adoption to help them meet the costs? It should operate very similarly to what we do with foreign mission works – very few might be actual foreign missionaries, but we all get behind them with love, prayer, and financial support. Can we do the same for Christians who adopt?
  2. Support for mothers
    Since the first publication of this article, it’s been brought to my attention that adoption shouldn’t really be the church’s first response. Adoption, I’m told, is often a last resort for these mothers. It’s something they’d rather not do, but they don’t see another way out.
    So what if we came alongside them? What if we invested in them financially, spiritually, and relationally to help them keep their children? It’s certainly a more complicated option, but it’s often the best one, and it’s a wonderful way to show the love of Christ.

If you’re a leader of a congregation, I challenge you to start considering adoption and/or supporting these mothers as one of your congregation’s missions. Let’s continue to rise to the challenge of being pro-life and not just pro-birth.