I recently was at the Georgia State Capital on a tour of the building with my family and friends. As we were driving in the car I had to distract my children as we passed a sign that portrayed a lifeless fetus. After we parked I soon realized that we were going to be at the capital during a Pro-Life rally. The streets were soon full of people gathering to protest abortion and to push for new legislation abolishing or restricting abortions in Georgia. Once we were in the building we no longer saw the protesters and the march had moved from the Capital by the time we left. However, the event and the sign caused me to once again reflect on my own stances on the Pro-Life/Pro-Choice issue.
Let me begin by stating that I am Pro-Life. I believe that life begins at conception. Therefore, the ending of a pregnancy is the ending of a human life that possesses an eternal soul. I believe that abortion, whenever it happens, is a sad event and it breaks my heart. However, I do understand that in instances of rape, incest, and when the life of the mother is severely endangered people are forced to make difficult decisions that I cannot even begin to imagine making and therefore I will not cast judgment but instead reach out in love with a grieving heart.
My big problem with the Pro-Life movement is that it really functions as a Pro-Birth group. There is a lot of concern about the birth of babies but not much emphasis placed on the needs of the children and their mothers once the child is born. There were several hundred if not a thousand people gathered with signs prepared to march in the bitter cold. They had arranged speakers, bands, and even had extended an invitation to the Governor to speak. What bothered me is that I do not see the church gather to promote adoptions. I have not witnessed or heard of organizations rallying to promote adoptions of children nor have I seen churches commit themselves to providing for the physical, medical, and spiritual needs of mothers who choose to keep their children and not have an abortion.
I believe that if the church is to have a true witness to the world against abortion that the church must become the largest group of adopters. No other group of people should adopt more babies than the church. Our members should be sacrificing vacations, cars, and bigger homes in order to adopt children or financially support mothers of children who decided against abortion. This will speak volumes more than graphic signs and harsh judgmental slogans that are designed to hurt instead of ministering to someone in need. When I reflect on the ministry of Jesus I remember the forgiving of the woman about to be stoned, the acceptance of the tax collectors, and the befriending for the woman at the well. I don’t think that Jesus would be standing with a sign in a rally; instead, I think he would be reaching out in love to these women. Therefore, I want to be doing the same. This is one of the reasons that Jessica and I are excited to soon be in the position of starting the adoption process; something we have both desired to do since before we were married.
I was pleasantly surprised to find out when researching Georgia Right to Life, the organization that planned the rally, is currently involved with efforts to increase adoptions of minority children.
