WHAT IS PRO-LIFE?

In the last 43 years in the United States, there have been almost 60 million abortions performed. That is 60 million lives lost. Although the human soul enters the body at birth with the first breath, the human spirit enters the body at conception. It is the human spirit that makes us human, irrespective of the shape, size or formation of the body. A tiny fetus is just as human, despite its incomplete body, as an 8-month old fetus. Human means created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). It is for this reason that I now oppose abortion practices. I would not necessarily change all of the laws pertaining to abortion, but I would want to ensure that every woman who seeks an abortion knows the whole truth, and can make a fully informed decision.

But as writer Laura Elliot noted in a recent blog post titled, It's Time to Expand Our Definition of Pro-Life, if the sum and substance of the pro-life agenda is fighting for the life of the unborn, we have fallen short. She notes that pro-life should include a concern that encompasses all of life from conception to natural death. If we claim to be pro-life, we should have just as much concern for the downtrodden, the poor, the refugee, the immigrant, the "illegal alien", the thief, the disabled, the ones who look, think or act differently, and even for our enemies. She further notes that when we begin to treat everyone, regardless of race, creed or religion in a manner that honors the image of Christ, our image bearer (Colossians 1:15), perhaps the world will take a second look at the pro-life movement.