Loving Them Both

Pro-lifers who devote time and energy to gaining passage of laws that restrict abortion are often accused of turning a cold shoulder to the plight of the woman facing an unwanted pregnancy. This is an unfair generalization.

I care deeply about the plight of these women, and I also see their predicaments as a unique opportunity for the Body of Christ to reach out to them with the love of a compassionate Savior. I am a huge fan of organizations like the Harrisonburg Pregnancy Center, where those trained and gifted in the art of counseling and the science of medicine provide practical help to women who suddenly find their lives in crisis.

I also care deeply about the other human being involved in the "decision." The other human being who was created by The Great Creator and in His image.

So with regard to unwanted pregnancies, I submit that the Body of Christ is confronted with two obligations: to love, counsel and assist the pregnant woman, and to work toward passage of laws that prohibit the killing of the unborn child she carries. We must love them both. God, in His great wisdom, has equipped some of us for one work and some for the other, but our work toward one goal does not imply lack of concern, conviction or support for the other goal.

I challenge those who argue that we should focus our attentions solely on the woman facing the unplanned pregnancy. How can we justify caring for one and not the other?

"Deliver those who are being taken away to death, and those who are staggering to slaughter, oh hold them back. If you say, 'See, we did not know this,' does He not consider it who weighs the hearts? And does He not know it who keeps your soul? And will He not render to man according to his work?" Proverbs 24:11-12