There is a difference. A big one.
With the news that Planned Parenthood is going to close down their abortion facility here in my hometown of Bryan, Texas, we need to take some time understanding this.
Voting for “pro-life” candidates does not make you pro-life. It makes you anti-abortion. We have to move beyond simply being against abortion and being for life.
Escape vs Solutions
If we end the evil of abortion we have done well. But now that those lives have been spared, what of their next 18+ years? Many pro-abortion advocates say they are ending cycles of abuse and neglect by keeping those unwanted pregnancies from placing a child in an at-risk situation. Whereas they are horribly misguided in their means, they are right about where many of those children will end up.
Young women (and men) have viewed abortion as a solution for too long. They believe it is the solution to keep them in school, finish their education and make something of themselves. But abortion is not and never has been a solution. It is an escape; an escape at the expense of a human life.
We must offer solutions. What will we do for that young woman we have convinced to keep her child? Will we pat ourselves on the back and walk away, feeling as though we’ve done our good deed for the day while she struggles to put food on her table and get a G.E.D.? No, we must help her. We convinced her to keep that child, now we need to put our money, time and energy where our voting mouths have been.
Offering Solutions
I am involved with a nonprofit organization that does just such a thing. Aggieland Pregnancy Outreach (APO) goes to great expense to train teen mothers how to raise their children. Teen mothers have many challenges to face when raising children that many of the rest of us do not. They need help. They need mentoring. They need support.
APO hosts a weekly “Mama Club” to do just that. We feed the mothers and their children and then offer great childcare while the girls get great training on how to care for their precious children. The girls in the program thrive and we get to be a small part of ending those heinous cycles of abuse and neglect.
APO also offers adoption services. Our motto is, “It’s For The Kids.” Kim Schams, our director, often tells new adoptive parents at our orientation meeting something that shocks them. She tells them that the lives of the precious children they are trying to adopt are not about them, but about the kids. Adoptions don’t exist to provide a good kid to a loving family, but to provide a loving family for a precious child. It’s about giving those children a better life. Everything we do is about giving those children a loving future.
Changing Culture
Sadly, our culture is rapidly shifting away from honoring girls who make the tough decision to place their child for adoption. More and more girls feel judged and looked down upon for not keeping their child. It is a heart-wrenching sacrifice to place a child for adoption, and in every case we should honor those women who have made that honorable choice.
It is easy to sling mud from either side of this issue. It is much harder to get down into the middle of things and try to make a difference in one life at a time. Places like Aggieland Pregnancy Outreach are supplying the answers we need in times like these. I encourage you to find out if your town has an organization like APO and get involved.
Talk to your pastor about using church money to support agencies like APO. Consider giving of your own time and money to help organizations that are offering solutions that don’t end innocent lives. There are few things more rewarding than using what you have to support lives beyond the decision not to abort, because each one of those lives is precious and will have a unique story.
Go be a part of their unique story.
I am a writer, author and purveyor of ink on paper. I also preach, teach and create Excel spreadsheets.
Interesting, but old news for many Pro-life people. We have been offering alternatives to abortion for decades! I know the media ignores this fact, so maybe you just don’t realize how widespread it is. Most just quietly DO, without letting the left hand know what the right hand is doing.
Barb,
I certainly value quietly doing, but right now we need people who can make this loudly known. I have been involved in the pro-life movement for quite a while, but still most people do not know about some of the most basic services and organizations offering things beyond awareness or pregnancy tests. We must make a stand for the children, and we must be willing to make it known.
You are right that the media will not publicize this for us. The local media wants little to do with offering free publicity to our organization. That makes it our responsibility to get the word out at such a critical time. The political winds are shifting in this nation. We must speak up now while we have the opportunity. When abortion was made legal in Roe v Wade, there was very little spoken from the pulpits of America.
It has taken 40 years of pro-lifers quietly “doing” to get where we are now. At this hour, we need pro-lifers who will pray hard and speak loudly. Very few people who consider themselves pro-life know anything about these other options that actually exist. The Lord is offering us a window of opportunity we must capitalize on.