In defiance of the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, families, individuals and church groups gathered in downtown Baton Rouge on Saturday to make a stand against abortion in Louisiana.
Though I often attend pro-life rallies, they always leave me with a twisted feeling in my stomach. On one hand, it is always good to see something you are passionate about to be supported by so many through prayer and presence. On the other, it seems like a waste of time, and little is done to spark or challenge one’s mind.
Gene Mills, executive director of Louisiana Family Forum, called for a “spirit of adoption to rest on the state of Louisiana and its mothers,” essentially proclaiming society is required to engage and take care of its own and those who may be unwanted.
Unsurprisingly, a small cluster of dissenters protested at the march. They pointed their fingers at the pro-life movement claiming that they were “anti-environment and equality,” making them “not pro-life.”
One sign said something along the lines of, “Be pro-life, but abandon and disown your homosexual children.”
Apparently some think abortion is about parents’ feelings toward their children’s sexual orientation. But as preposterous as that may sound, pregnancies have been terminated based on the fetus’ gender.
There is no doubt in my mind that there is power in assembly. History shows that when people make a stand, legislation shifts accordingly to the morality of the people. Consider the Civil Rights Movement as an example.
But how long are we only willing to assemble when we have allowed roughly 50 million aborted under our watch?
The pro-life movement needs to become the anti-abortion movement, simply because lending moral support does little to aid the call for an abortion-free state.
One of my favorite questions to ask others at rallies is, “Why are you pro-life?” The answer tends to disappoint me.
Few answer with an educated mind, and many with a theological passion that isn’t backed by science or reason in reference to the question. This is because the logical steps to education on basic embryology and clear thinking on how to tactfully contend for the unborn have not been embraced.
A call for education and true activism on the part of a new anti-abortion movement has to be implemented in order to be successful. A rally for life is futile if you cannot defend your own position.
There are difficult issues to address such as rape, ectopic pregnancy, embryonic stem cell research, contraception, late-term abortion and unwanted pregnancy. How do you address these and others? It is all too easy to just stand in the crowd of supporters and not do anything.
After attending rallies and pro-life events for years, there is one thing both pro-life and pro-choice supporters can agree on — ignorance and misinformation is wrong. Both sides have to answer real questions.
So I leave you with a question: What is the unborn?
