With October being “Respect Life” month and a great deal of pro-life movements, it is important to reflect on what it really means to be pro-life. For many, the first thing that comes to mind when they hear pro-life is the topic of abortion. Yes, being pro-life means defending life in the womb and those who are pro-life recognize abortion as an extremely important issue that needs action now. But being pro-life cannot stop there, otherwise you’re just anti-abortion.

Being pro-life starts in the womb. Recognizing that an unborn child is a human life with inherent dignity. What right do we have to end lives? This logic is often applied to the unborn, the idea that ending a human life is muder and that is wrong at all life stages. Well, what about the death penalty? Some argue that there is an important difference to consider, and that is innocence. In the case of the unborn, they have not done anything wrong and are undoubtedly innocent. In the case of someone on death row, they have been convicted of severe crimes. While I acknowledge this difference I ask myself, what right do we have to end another human life? Your answer may be different, but I am pro-life and I believe the death penalty is equally as injust as killing an unborn child. I do not believe that you can pick and choose where ending another human life is okay, it’s all or nothing.

Being pro-life should include advocating for mental health and preventative measures against suicide. We should not wait for someone to end their life before we begin to care about it. This is an incredibly difficult topic and for some it may seem easier to ignore it. You do not need to be a crisis counselor to support other people. You can provide resources to people in need, focus on self-education or advocacy, or simply make it your goal each day to remind someone that they matter. 

Something I’ve come across is accusations of pro-life individuals only caring about the unborn baby, neglecting care for the mother or continued advocacy once the child is born. I am sure that there are individuals who are like this, and that breaks my heart. That is not being pro-life. We need to offer care, support, and resources to women during their times of crisis and beyond. The problems that a mother faces when she is pregnant do not disappear once the baby is born, and neither should your support. If we want to encourage women to choose life, we need to help make it a viable option.

Regardless of where you stand on abortion, I think we can all agree that the foster care and adoption systems need reform. Being pro-life includes advocating for children after they are born. This is especially important considering how placing their child in the foster care system or up for adoption may be the mother’s best choice. There is no one answer I could give you for how to instantly fix this system, if there was it would already be fixed. I’m not calling on the pro-life community to enact radical change over night, but I am calling on everyone to care.  

One of the greatest flaws of our society is failure to recognize the humanity of our neighbors. We ignore the refugee fleeing terrorism, the homeless person on the side of the road, and all those who are marginalized by society. That’s not very pro-life of us. These people were all once unborn children. Their lives were worth protecting back then, so why do some believe they are not worth protecting now? Being pro-life means upholding the dignity of the human person at all stages of life. We cannot turn our backs on our neighbors in need.

Recognizing the humanity in one another also means acknowledging the weaknesses of our kind. We all make mistakes, we hurt other people, we are imperfect. We let our anger and judgement stop us from treating each other with grace. As you look at a child, filled with joy and promise, remember that at one point that was all of us. Yes, even your worst enemy has a life that is worth protecting.