Christians – Stop Calling Yourself Pro-Life

Unveiling the Truth: The Real Debate Between Pro-Birth and Pro-Life

People pretend the debate is about pro-life versus pro-choice, but it isn’t. The debate is pro-birth versus pro-life, with being pro-life being more aligned with the values of those who are pro-choice.

 

Why?

 

Christians who call themselves pro-life have made it clear that they value a developing fetus over the life of a pregnant person. They also have made it clear that they care nothing about the financial pressures or other safety concerns that come from having additional children. 

 

“Well, adoption is an option.” And of course, it is. But it’s not as if you can just roll up to the local adoption center and poof—you drop your little bundle of joy off, and you just return to your life. This would be a gut-wrenching decision for everyone involved, including those who have to explain to their existing children why this adoption is happening.

 

“They should have thought about that before they had sex.” Oh, for sure! Since the dawn of time people should have “thought about that.” And those who say this heartless and cruel statement are ignoring their skeletons in their own closets, where their “I should have thought about that” moments are hiding. Where family members—or maybe even themselves—have been whisked away to other states for abortions, because God forbid your white picket fence surrounding your picture-perfect house is tarnished with the same mistakes you’re so quick to point out about others.

 

“Abortion is a sin.” No. Your interpretation of scripture compels you to believe that abortion is a sin. Scholars assert that the Bible is not clear about its stance on abortion. Text in Exodus “assigns less value to a fetus than a born human” according to scholar Dan McClellan. The Bible indicates that life begins at first breath, but people will counter that by saying that the foretelling of Jesus would imply that our personhood at conception is sacred. However, McClellan also explains that this is simply a renegotiation of scripture well past the original writings, meaning someone assigned value to scripture that would emphasize conception as sacred that was not part of the original writers’ intent.

 

We can do this all day, but it’s futile. 

 

It’s futile because Christians hunkered down in this hyper-focus on abortion as their primary reason to support the extremist Christian nationalism movement that is threatening our democracy are not going to be able to rise above these talking points. 

 

This is because of several reasons. 

 

1. This is as far as their limited knowledge about reproductive rights will allow them to take the discussion. They literally are spoon-fed from the pulpit each week with talking points that intentionally hit high notes of emotion with little substantive data to support it. If the focus can be on “oppose abortion because God said so,” the Christian’s indoctrination compels them to believe that teaching without questioning its validity. Do as your pastor says, and stars in your crown will be your reward—an oversimplification of the theology, but am I wrong? No. I’m not.
2. The Christians who support banning abortion believe in Christian dominionism. This theology teaches that the white Christian male should be leading all spheres of influence, including government, media, education and of course religion. To that end, it is meaningless to appeal to their compassion on the terrible impact on people who do not have access to abortion. If more white babies are born whose caregivers cannot afford their care, then more are available for adoption. This ensures a white dominant culture. If more babies are forced to be born to the historically oppressed thereby keeping them locked into a cycle of poverty, this keeps them beholden to a capitalistic system that ensures labor at lower wages.
3. They refuse to see the bridge of history from reproductive rights to segregation to civil rights to fundamental freedoms that include the rights of women. They only see that they are high enough on the ladder of patriarchy to escape the harm it can cause and do not care how others suffer because of it.

 

Why Christians don’t deserve to be called pro-lifers.

 

But why would I say that they don’t deserve to be called pro-life if they literally are about banning abortion? Because it turns out that this is the only thing they care about. For reasons mentioned above—ensuring Christian dominionism is the law of this country and protecting white supremacy—Christians who are anti-abortion couldn’t care less about the economic struggles of people who are forced to carry pregnancies to term.

 

They care little about the safety of our children in schools.

 

Their representatives in government routinely vote against any kind of pre- or post-natal care or for increased funding to address food insecurity. Their “earn your keep” theology literally means forcing people to suffer under the weight of the laws these extremist Christians are putting in place.

 

They are against funding child-care or after-school programs that assist working parents.

 

It’s almost as if the entire scheme is to just produce more white babies and to hell with the impact it has on you.

 

And there it is.

 

In Texas, HB2889 would provide a 40% property tax reduction to married couples who have more than four children.

 

But there are a few hitches. Do you know who doesn’t qualify for this property tax reduction?

 

LGBTQ couples

Single parents

Divorced parents

Blended families

 

Know who else doesn’t qualify?

People who don’t own their homes.

 

Know who is the primary homeowner in the state of Texas?

White people.

 

Housing disparity among whites and Blacks is so huge that it clearly shows how race impacts home ownership, and Texas just said the quiet part out loud—they want more white babies and are incentivizing white people to have them.

 

Abortion is a straw man argument, because those who benefit the most from banning it couldn’t care less about the well-being of children. They care about their power.

 

The most recent poll from Pew Research Center on abortion shows that 61% of Americans say that abortion should be legal, and that a very small percentage of Americans support a complete ban even in the cases of incest or rape.

 

A very small percentage.

 

The straw man is undeniably real. The white Christian male is hiding behind the cloak of religious hubris as if they are the keeper of a moral code that most Americans do not even support. 

 

But the white Christian male feels the pressure of a changing America, and that is his primary motivating factor for keeping Christians’ eyes on abortion as if it is a direct commandment from God.

 

It is up to us to continue to call out their rhetoric for what it is, and this is why we must reclaim pro-life for those of us who truly care about life from birth to death.

 

Because you know who doesn’t care?

 

The white Christian male and those believing his lies.

 

They are pro-birth, and they care nothing about any of us who do not serve their patriarchal structure.

 

When Roe v Wade was overturned, I shared my own story about finding out I was pregnant at 16 years old. I share it here because someone needs to hear it. I was a young white girl, privileged enough to know I’d be okay. But my story is not the entirety of the human experience, and it would be arrogant of anyone to say that my story is the norm.

 

It is not.

 

I was the exception.

 

Because of that, abortion should remain a viable option for those who deserve to be the keeper of their lives.

 

If you disagree, then you are not pro-life unless you support banning assault weapons and funding programs that support the under-served from birth to death.

 

If you don’t – then you’re pro-birth, and you are not the messenger of God.

 

You are the harbinger of white supremacy.

 

Own it. 

Even if you don’t—we know who you are.

 

My story

I was 16 years old.

I had to borrow money from a friend to purchase the test.

I knew it would say positive before I ever used it.

My boyfriend and I had broken up.

He was off to college, and I was still living in a small town just trying to figure out life.

What was I gonna do?

I was a Christian.

I had volunteered at the right-to-life booth at our county fair.

But I never felt so alone.

So scared.

My mom came home and just knew.

It’s that 6th sense that mamas have I guess.

But I just sat there and said nothing. 

And I’ll never forget what she said to me.

She said, 

“Karla, I may be the only friend you’ll have in this

So, tell me what’s going on.”

Later that night I woke up to her lying in bed with me

Holding me and crying.

I knew then that we were keeping this pregnancy.

But also, something shifted inside me

Because although I was young and scared and naive,

I knew that had I had another parent

Born to other circumstances,

I could have found myself alone, pregnant and homeless.

My choices would have looked strikingly different.

And I decided that day that I would never judge the

Decisions that women make in order to survive.

Never again would I judge another’s life

Based on my personal experiences.

That’s my story.

Mine.

You deserve to make your decisions based on your life experiences.

I’ll stand with you, so you have the right to make them.