The Patriot Post® · Women Lead the Pro-Life Movement
It’s a staggering number: 56 million.
That’s the number of precious lives that have been lost to abortion since the Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe v. Wade in 1973.
On Wednesday, January 22, our nation marked the 47th anniversary of this tragically misguided decision. While many supporters of the pro-choice movement today uphold a woman’s right to choose as honoring to women, it is anything but.
As the president of the nation’s largest public policy organization for women, Concerned Women for America, I have talked with many women who have been devastated by their choice to abort. The entire latest episode of my podcast focused on this topic. Women have shared with me how their abortions sent them into relentless cycles of depression, anxiety, and addiction. They tell me how they constantly struggle with shame.
Women have abortions for different reasons. Some are young and afraid of the repercussions from parents or partners. Some face abuse. Some are in dire financial straits. But they all receive similar promises at abortion clinics. They are promised that having an abortion will give them their life back. They are promised that the procedure will be quick and painless. They are promised that their unborn child is just a mass of tissue.
They are being lied to.
In the United States of America, abortion is a multibillion-dollar industry. As of 2019, Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, had more than $2 billion in total assets, according to its annual report. For decades, Planned Parenthood and other organizations like it have capitalized on a woman’s vulnerability — they have exploited it.
But we can change that story.
The pro-life movement values women, giving them the power to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves and to speak the truth about the consequences of abortion.
Being pro-life means championing all life. It means caring for unborn children and born ones. It means caring for children who are orphaned or in the foster-care system. It means caring for single mothers. It means caring for those who have experienced sexual assault and abuse. It means caring for those who have been victimized by sex trafficking. It means caring for women who are abortion survivors.
Women who have had abortions, oftentimes, are looking for hope. They are looking for love. They are looking for forgiveness. God is their judge, and He gave His Son to redeem their and our sins. God has called us to help the hurting women who are suffering in silence and who are burdened with guilt.
As a follower of Christ, I believe that we must extend the same grace to others that God has extended to us. We must see all women as made in the image of God, regardless of the decisions that they have made. We must walk alongside them as they heal.
The pro-choice movement offers women false empowerment: “You can do whatever you want! You have a life to live! You don’t have to be sad!”
But in reality, abortion devalues women. It harms their mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical health. It affects their relationships. Furthermore, abortion is robbing our nation of generations of women and men who could be our future leaders and policymakers.
I and many others, including President Trump, participated in this year’s March for Life in our nation’s capital, celebrating life and celebrating women. I invite you to join our pro-life, pro-woman movement.