Though I was only eight years old when the Supreme Court passed Roe v. Wade, I can remember my mother’s response and the emotion that surrounded discussions at our Catholic church.
The case involved a woman, who used the pseudonym Jane Roe, who brought a case against the district attorney of Dallas, Texas, believing that women had the right to terminate a pregnancy at any point in the unborn child’s life.
As the youngest of seven children who lived on a suburban block with 40-plus kids, I remember ripples of anger and shock.
I know my mom never believed such a law would be passed in this country. She marched against the Vietnam War because she was concerned that young men were needlessly losing their lives. She started a special religious education program for those with developmental disabilities because she valued those who, like my sister, have Down Syndrome. She attended Operation Push rallies to understand the lives of African-Americans in Chicago better and see what our church could do to bring positive change. She was all about life, and she never needed to put a label on it until she understood that there were two very vocal camps: one pro-life and one pro-choice.
What Does the Term Pro-Life Mean?
Both Merriam-Webster and Encyclopedia Britannica indicate that pro-life means “opposed to abortion.”
Others, like the organization Anglicans for Life, would extend pro-life to mean valuing the life of senior citizens or people with disabilities and also to opposing euthanasia.
Live Action “the digital leader of the global pro-life movement,” says that abortion is a violence. . . to both mother and child,” and they “demonstrate that the preborn child is an undeniably distinct and precious human life from the point of conception.”
On the other hand, we have Christian denominations that are distinctly or (lean toward being) pro-choice. For example, the United Methodist Church states, “Our belief in the sanctity of unborn human life makes us reluctant to approve abortion. But we are equally bound to respect the sacredness of the life and well-being of the mother and the unborn child.”
The Presbyterian Church USA, in a resolution voted on last year, showed overwhelming support for the following statement: “women and pregnant people are full moral agents, created in the image of God, and it supports their moral capacity to decide whether to continue or end any given pregnancy.”
According to the Episcopal Church, they believe that “legislating abortions will not address the root of the problem. We therefore express our deep conviction that any proposed legislation on the part of national or state governments regarding abortions must take special care to see that the individual conscience is respected and that the responsibility of individuals to reach informed decisions in this matter is acknowledged and honored as the position of this Church.”
For some denominations, it’s obvious that they would only support a pro-life stance. Others agree on the sanctity of life but are just as focused on the woman’s right to choose.
Was the Early Church Pro-Life?
In the early days of God’s covenant with Abraham through Jesus’ time, the Jews encountered pagan nations who thought nothing of killing their children.
Deuteronomy 12:31 states, “You must not worship the Lord your God in their (pagan) way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the Lord hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.” (this passage was written circa 1450 BC).
When Jesus was on earth, He made a point of continuing to show the value of welcoming a child in love (Matthew 18:10). They weren’t second-class citizens. Children were included in “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
We know that in the early church at the time of the writing of the Book of James, believers were told, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
So, not only were Christians to value their children and never consider abortion; they were to look out for the welfare of orphans. Whether this happened within a family or the church collective, it would be another way to show the pagan nations that this God and His followers differed.
Justin Taylor provides an overview of sources showing how ancient Judaism, and later the early church, approached abortion. Michael J. Gorman states in his book Abortion and the Early Church: Christian, Jewish and Pagan Attitudes in the Greco-Roman World that abortion was rampant in the ancient world, and Christians and Jews fought against it. Josephus, often quoted for his extra-biblical writings that support the claims of Christianity, wrote in Against Apion that “the law orders all the offspring to be brought up, and forbids women either to cause abortion or to make away with the fetus” (emphasis added).
The Jewish view of abortion informed the Christian view, while the Romans were aborting children for any reason. Gorman also cites a letter from Barnabas around 130 AD, where women were prohibited from abortion. It was assumed that otherwise, silence on the subject among early Christians meant that it was a tenet of the faith to oppose infanticide and required no more teaching on the subject.
Gorman further reports that not only did Christians oppose abortion, but they also went out of their way to rescue and adopt children who had been abandoned by Roman families—possibly following James’ call to care for widows and orphans in their distress.
How Did Roe v. Wade Change the Way Christians Talk about Being Pro-Life?
Before 1970, abortion was a woman’s decision to end a pregnancy for whatever reason. After Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court was accused of trying to legislate morality, and abortion became much more of a political stick to beat the other party with. The effort on the part of pro-lifers was how to overturn it—and pro-choicers how to ensure it remained entrenched in American law.
From the time of Ronald Reagan in the early 1980s, abortion became a hot topic in campaigns. Those running for office were judged based on their position on the right to life. And they are still being judged now that it has been overturned.
You can’t legislate morality, but you can make it more difficult for a woman to get an abortion for any reason at any time. For example, the Heartbeat Bill in Texas is designed to outlaw abortions once the baby’s heartbeat can be detected (usually at six weeks). There are also bills for and against late-term abortions.
The American Constitution Society claims that overturning the law violates the freedom of religion promised by the Constitution. The argument is that if another faith believes differently about abortion, they should be allowed to practice their faith. They point to the example of Hinduism. Many Hindus believe the soul comes into existence upon conception, but a human person does not come into existence in Hinduism until the fetus becomes a sentient being that is aware of itself. That’s just one example of how the pro-choice/pro-life argument is not cut and dried.
Does Being Pro-Life Mean More than Just Campaigning Against Abortion?
It should. Suppose we follow a biblical model for respecting life and loving our neighbors as ourselves. In that case, we need to promote, as much as possible, a holistic approach to determine what drives women to abortion and how we can help protect their unborn child.
Often that means promoting adoption and foster parenting (like SAFE Families for Children).
Other times that means giving women access to ultrasounds so they can see their baby in the womb (and hopefully change their mind).
Some organizations offer help with child care, finding job opportunities for Mom or Dad (if he is on the scene). Sometimes it means bringing together resources within an entire community to support families to save babies.
My church is involved with several other organizations to help women. We have an Anglicans for Life chapter that trains the church on making a difference in their community. We work with a clinic that serves impoverished women by sponsoring ultrasounds, child care, clothing for moms, and practical things like diapers and baby formula. We promote SAFE Families in our church. We offer counsel for women pre- and post-abortion and teach abstinence to our teens.
There is more that we can do because the need is so great. We pray that other churches nationwide determine how to develop the tools and connections best to save more babies. Because we know abortions are still happening every day, depending on the state you live in—and Planned Parenthood is very well-funded in those areas.
Pro-Life Resources
Further Reading:
Five Pro-Life Books Every Christian Should Be Reading Now
12 Verses about Abortion - What Does the Bible Say?
Is the Evangelical Pro-Life Position "New?"
5 Inspiring Pro-Life Movies to See Today
5 Steps to a Christlike Discussion about the Roe v. Wade Decision
Photo Credit: Getty Images/liveslow
Mary Oelerich-Meyer is a Chicago-area freelance writer and copy editor who prayed for years for a way to write about and for the Lord. She spent 20 years writing for area healthcare organizations, interviewing doctors and clinical professionals and writing more than 1,500 articles in addition to marketing collateral materials. Important work, but not what she felt called to do. She is grateful for any opportunity to share the Lord in her writing and editing, believing that life is too short to write about anything else. Previously she served as Marketing Communications Director for a large healthcare system. She holds a B.A. in International Business and Marketing from Cornell College (the original Cornell!) When not researching or writing, she loves to spend time with her writer daughter, granddaughter, rescue doggie and husband (not always in that order).
