My dearest brothers and sisters, in the midst of our tears and joys, I implore you to allow the Spirit to lead you once again. We have a choice on this historic day; will we stay celebrating only to abandon a great and holy call, or will we be quick to listen to the God who cares more about life than any of us? As the news begins to swarm about the overturning of Roe v. Wade and many mixed emotions begin to fill our streets and pews we have a choice to make. Will we be known as the Church that overwhelmed an already exploding foster care system, or the Church that took responsibility for not only the overturning of Roe v. Wade but the resulting catastrophic effects of removing a woman’s ability to terminate a pregnancy? Will we be as the historic church was, a people who stand in the gaps of governmental systems and infrastructure failures?
Evangelical Christians have been at the center of the issue of abortion since the early ’80s when President Ronald Reagan began to mobilize evangelicals to use their voices to elect him. (1) According to one conservative Evangelical group, it is estimated that $55 billion dollars have been raised to fight Roe V. Wade in less than a twenty-year span between 2000 and 2019. (2) For perspective, that is nearly 15 times more than both the republican and democrat parties raised during the 2020 presidential election. (3) The question is at hand then where can the pro-life movement go next? While many will stay faithful to the end, seeking to outlaw abortion in every individual state, some see the supreme court’s decision as victory enough.
The values of the pro-life movement are conducive to an easy switch from fighting abortion to a number of other causes revolving around the sanctity of life. I would like to offer some suggestions for which to pour our energy, time, finances, and even voting power toward goals that would align beautifully with the preserving and protecting of life.
Perhaps an obvious first response would be to support those affected most by the outlawing of abortion in various states, both mothers and babies. Support for mothers should be at the forefront of every follower of Christ, especially those who have advocated for their pregnancies to be kept to term. For most women seeking an abortion, it is a last resort or seen as a necessity for not only their lives but for fear of the baby having a life filled with hardship. If political change is something you are passionate about, perhaps your advocacy to end abortion can be shifted toward seeking policy change that would provide resources and assistance for single mothers, such as affordable health care, discounted or free childcare, increased financial assistance, and mandatory maternal and paternal leave.
Families Valued is an initiative of the Center for Public Justice, it is a non-partisan, Christian organization seeking policy reform that protects religious liberty while seeking welfare reform and seeks to close the opportunity gap through political advocacy.
If more personal action is what you are passionate about, perhaps seeking volunteer opportunities at crisis pregnancy centers would be a viable option for you.
Many crisis pregnancy centers offer free resources to women experiencing unwanted pregnancies, including parenting courses, diapers, formula, clothing, and even financial assistance. As abortion becomes less available to lower-income individuals, we will begin to see an increase in needs at these centers. Consider donating supplies and time to these centers. One local to me that has offered help to many women in need is Care Net.
If you are able to, perhaps the biggest way you can offer help in the midst of an upcoming influx of infants would be to consider adoption or fostering. Perhaps one of the earliest Christian ethics is the concept of caring for and protecting unwanted children. The early Church was known as a sanctuary for abandoned children. (4) What better a way to show the love of Christ than to extend the spirit of adoption through the act of physical adoption? According to the Texas Tribune, an average of 50,000 abortions take place in Texas every year. (5) The enviable outlawing of abortion in our state means that a potential 50,000 infants will be in need of adoption in Texas alone! How great a testimony would it be if the Church could claim credit for not just the outlawing of abortion, but the adoption of every child from an unwanted pregnancy?
Bethany is a global nonprofit organization and is recognized as a prominent leader in social services worldwide. Its mission is to demonstrate the love and compassion of Jesus Christ by protecting and enhancing the lives of children and families around the world. Their services include domestic infant adoption, foster care, and pregnancy counseling.
Life Tree is a Dallas-based adoption agency that helps women experiencing unwanted pregnancies to find families looking to adopt, providing care throughout the entire process.
Aside from care for those directly impacted, there are far more opportunities that align with a historic Christian ethic that the Church can focus its attention on. One possible new use for the potential billions of dollars now floating around seeking philanthropy would be feeding the hungry. In October of 2021, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos were critiqued for having access to the funds that could end world hunger without hurting them in any meaningful way. (6) How atrocious, not that a secular billionaire would live luxuriously while 2% of his finances could solve world hunger, but that Christians would not donate with furry 11% of what was raised to outlaw abortion towards ending world hunger! What great freedom we have, now that Roe v. Wade is overturned, to donate our finances towards another worthy cause!
Feed my starving children is a non-profit Christian organization that seeks to meet the immediate needs of those experiencing hunger around the world.
Food for the Hungry is a Christian organization focused on community development with the goal of helping communities escape extreme poverty in approximately 10 years. With operations in over 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, the organization focuses on all forms of human poverty, addressing the physical, spiritual, and relational needs of vulnerable people, especially children. Their work includes efforts to reduce malnutrition and improve food security, enhance resilience to shocks, and improve livelihoods among vulnerable households. One of their main goals is to help local farmers implement new techniques to successfully grow enough produce and raise livestock to feed families and earn additional income.
Alongside the financial resources, we can also advocate for more policy changes to create food security for those experiencing hunger and malnutrition in the United States.
Bread for the World is an American, non-partisan, and Christian movement to end hunger. The organization focuses on advocacy for policy change by engaging individuals and groups in annual campaigns with a specific focus on matters related to food and agriculture. Bread for the World organizes fundraisers for nutrition programs and encourages activists and members to write letters to their members of Congress, urging them to take action on the issue of hunger and food security.
As we begin to see many unborn lives saved as a result of advocacy and political activism, perhaps we can work towards another pro-life movement, the abolition of the death penalty. 1,547 men and women have been killed by the United States government using the death penalty since the 1970s when it was reinstated. 187 or 12% of those sentenced to the death penalty have been proven to be completely innocent after sentencing, and at least 20 of those have been executed before they were found wrongfully convicted. (7) Ending capital punishment could possibly be the next cause for the Christian fight to protect the sanctity of human life.
The Innocence Project is a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice.
Equal Justice USA (EJUSA) works to make the criminal justice system more fair, effective, and responsive to everyone impacted by crime. With its national and local partners, EJUSA has helped end the death penalty in 6 states. EJUSA is currently leading a national effort to engage Evangelicals in a dialogue about the death penalty.
Whatever the cause may be, let us not grow weary in doing good! As we celebrate the lives spared in this ruling, let us not lose sight of the lives still being ended, the hearts still wounded, the needy still hungry, and the women still disadvantaged due to the sin of this world. While our opinions of this ruling may be varied, our response can be unified: that we may continue to be the light of the world and a city on a hill. I pray that we may let our light shine before others, so that they may see our good works and give glory to our Father in heaven.
Resources:
- Families Valued is an initiative of the Center for Public Justice, it is a non-partisan, Christian organization seeking policy reform that protects religious liberty while seeking welfare reform and seeks to close the opportunity gap through political advocacy. You can learn more, connect, and volunteer at https://www.familiesvalued.org/
- Many crisis pregnancy centers offer free resources to women experiencing unwanted pregnancies, including parenting courses, diapers, formula, clothing, and even financial assistance. As abortion becomes less available to lower-income individuals, we will begin to see an increase in needs at these centers. Consider donating supplies and time to these centers. One local to me that has offered help to many women in need is Care Net. https://pregnancycare.org/
- Bethany is a global nonprofit organization and is recognized as a prominent leader in social services worldwide. Its mission is to demonstrate the love and compassion of Jesus Christ by protecting and enhancing the lives of children and families around the world. Their services include domestic infant adoption, foster care, and pregnancy counseling. https://bethany.org/help-a-child/adoption/us-infant-adoption
- Life Tree is a Dallas-based adoption agency that helps women experiencing unwanted pregnancies to find families looking to adopt, providing care throughout the entire process. https://www.lifetreeadoption.com/
- Feed my starving children is a non-profit Christian organization that seeks to meet the immediate needs of those experiencing hunger around the world. https://www.fmsc.org/impact-of-our-work/what-makes-us-different/christian-mission#:~:text=FMSC%20is%20a%20Christian%20nonprofit,was%20rededicated%20to%20the%20Lord.
- Food for the Hungry is a Christian organization focused on community development with the goal of helping communities escape extreme poverty in approximately 10 years. With operations in over 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, the organization focuses on all forms of human poverty, addressing the physical, spiritual, and relational needs of vulnerable people, especially children. Their work includes efforts to reduce malnutrition and improve food security, enhance resilience to shocks, and improve livelihoods among vulnerable households. One of their main goals is to help local farmers implement new techniques to successfully grow enough produce and raise livestock to feed families and earn additional income. https://www.fh.org/about/
- Bread for the World is an American, non-partisan, and Christian movement to end hunger. The organization focuses on advocacy for policy change by engaging individuals and groups in annual campaigns with a specific focus on matters related to food and agriculture. Bread for the World organizes fundraisers for nutrition programs and encourages activists and members to write letters to their members of Congress, urging them to take action on the issue of hunger and food security. https://www.bread.org/
- The Innocence Project is a national litigation and public policy organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals through DNA testing and reforming the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice. http://www.innocenceproject.org
- Equal Justice USA (EJUSA) works to make the criminal justice system more fair, effective, and responsive to everyone impacted by crime. With its national and local partners, EJUSA has helped end the death penalty in 6 states. EJUSA is currently leading a national effort to engage Evangelicals in a dialogue about the death penalty. http://ejusa.org
Sources:
- https://www.npr.org/2019/06/20/734303135/throughline-traces-evangelicals-history-on-the-abortion-issue
- https://www.hli.org/resources/rich-pro-life-movement/
- https://www.npr.org/2020/05/20/858347477/money-tracker-how-much-trump-and-biden-have-raised-in-the-2020-election
- https://aleteia.org/2020/01/19/how-medieval-christians-saved-abandoned-infants/
- https://www.texastribune.org/2022/05/09/texas-abortions-by-the-numbers/
- https://fortune.com/2022/02/15/elon-musk-5-7-billion-donation-weeks-after-asking-un-world-hunger/#:~:text=26%20that%20the%20world’s%20elite,It’s%20not%20complicated.%E2%80%9D
- https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions/executions-overview
“Let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.”
Galatians 6:9-10 CSB
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