Among the laundry list of spurious and cantankerous insults directed at the pro-life movement is the charge that “pro-life” doesn’t care for the well-being of mothers, only the unborn baby.
It’s an accusation that holds little truth but one that has found a receptive audience because of how the abortion debate is typically framed. Support for abortion is a zero-sum proposition, and there is no room for the consideration that the pro-life movement actually serves mothers through various ministries and charities.
A major reason for this is that so much of the abortion debate focuses on government policy: Do you support the legality of abortion or not? But being pro-life is not simply about opposing abortion. It is about building a culture that values life at all times.
Amid a snowstorm and freezing temperatures, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) addressed the crowd at the March for Life on Friday and made this exact point.
After recounting that he himself was the product of an unplanned pregnancy, Johnson said that his parents “chose life” and that he is “profoundly grateful that they did.”
“We have to build a culture that encourages and assists more and more people to make that same decision,” Johnson said. “This is a critical time to help all moms who are facing unplanned pregnancies, to work with foster children, and to help families who are adopting, to volunteer and assist our vital pregnancy resource centers and our maternity homes, and to reach out a renewed hand of compassion.”
Johnson is right. Building a culture of life requires the time, talent, and treasure of those committed to the cause so that those who would be swayed to seek abortions can see that there are other paths available.
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On Thursday, the House of Representatives, under Johnson’s leadership, passed two bills that go a long way toward supporting pregnant and nursing mothers. One bill requires schools to remind pregnant students of their rights and the availability of resources, such as crisis pregnancy centers, that do not provide abortion, and the other would continue providing federal funding to those same centers.
The two bills are a small but laudable step toward building a culture of life and offer a road map for pro-life public policy that goes beyond simply banning abortion. By shepherding these bills out of the House, Johnson is proving himself a true leader for the pro-life movement.