On Being Pro-Life At The Women's March

A few days before the March I started to see articles on my Facebook feed about a pro-life organization being asked to withdraw it's support as an official sponsor for the Women's March on Washington that was accompanied by the reiteration of the pro-choice Unity Principles of the March. Before these articles surfaced, I had not given a second thought to whether or not, as a women morally opposed to abortion, I was welcome to stand with my sisters against injustices perpetrated against women. Of course I would be welcome.

Out of a deep passion and strong conviction on nearly EVERY other principle of the Women's March (including the REST of the Reproductive Freedom Principle), I decided to attend.  And...I WAS welcome. My fellow sisters and I applauded when a young Muslim woman asked us to treat one another with respect regardless of our differences. We applauded when we heard a Jewish rabbi promise to stand up for Muslims if, like the Jews, they were ever required to register. We applauded when a black imam advocated for responsible policing. We applauded when a LGBTQIA advocate asked to be treated with dignity. We applauded when a rape victim stood up to say that she would NOT be shamed by law enforcement and public opinion for being raped. We applauded lots of people with lots of messages. No one ever asked me to make any allegiance to the cause of abortion.

When the ONE abortion rights presenter spoke, I did not applaud her points. I heartily disagreed with her. I saw my own babies little heart beats at six weeks gestation and I would never, under any circumstances, terminate a pregnancy. I believe that life begins at conception and that abortion is infanticide. But, though I disagreed with her, I did listen to the story she was telling. What I heard was a rational, caring woman who, in her deepest heart, felt that abortion was a kindness for her child with severe congenital defects....a child she wanted and loved and mourns.

It is not OK that the official platform for the Women's March intentionally excluded a large group of women who think differently about abortion than they do. It is my opinion that all types of women need to come together to dialogue about reproductive rights. Pro-life women need to come into the conversation with swords sheathed. Pro-choice women need to come into the conversation with shields down.

We, as a faith community have made this (as well as several other social issues) an issue without nuance and devoid of humanity. We've painted a picture of a selfish, morally loose, murderous, pro-choice woman that isn't accurate. They have created images of pro-lifers as people who point fingers of shame and joyfully damn them with self righteous smirks on their faces while simultaneously denying them the help they need to raise their children. None of these caricatures are helpful for anyone.

We gain nothing by surrounding ourselves with people who think and act exactly like ourselves, If we can't find ways to labor together on common ground nothing will ever change.  During the rally I stood alongside my friend who is both pro-choice and a loving mother to her daughter. She knows my beliefs about abortion. We care about each other, even though we fiercely disagree with each other on a lot of fronts. We stood together in defense of justice and equality for millions of other humans. If I, a pro-life woman, do not show up to the conversation, how can I communicate my heart for life in all it's stages of development and diversity.

Bleeding Heart Moderate

I knew as a young woman that my politics were vastly different from those of my parents. Dinner time would wind up turning into a heated debate between my father and my eleven year old self. The argument would often end with my dad admonishing "You're just a bleeding heart liberal!"

NOTE: Lest you think my father was an immature bully, in his defense, I have always been a very cerebral person, capable of meaningful conversation about a great many topics, even as a child. 

Even in my youth, I was aware that being termed a "bleeding heart" anything was not meant as a compliment. The term was a way of communicating to me that I was being led to make decisions based on my emotions. Political discourse was, instead, supposed to be logical and sober. I, however, did not waver in my belief that humans had an obligation to take care of other humans. If it took government intervention to get people the help they needed...well, so be it.

I held fast to these tenets UNTIL...

When I was a sophomore in high school, I became a Christian. This life choice was made outside the confines of a church environment but as a eased into evangelical life, I came to understand that I hadn't only accepted Jesus, I'd adopted a whole new worldview. In my naivete, I spent my late teens and early twenties striving to be a "good" Christian. My endeavor for church perfection meant that I professed to tow all of the party lines...conservative, pro-life, anti-gay rights, pro-traditional family values, anti-welfare, pro-abstinence, anti-democrat, etc. Of course my inborn inclination railed against these precepts but I internalized the struggle.

Instead of questioning whether or not a believer was required to espouse these social teachings, I assumed there was something wrong with me...that my mind was overtaken by wrong thinking. After all, like politics, faith needed to be logical and non-emotional. I was just too emotional.

In my late twenties and early thirties, as I grew in my knowledge of God, my heart was stirred to pick up and move from suburban Kansas City to the urban center of the the city. When it became evident that my husband and I were really going to be city dwellers, my heart felt a thrill of  joy at the prospect of living among people who were black, gay, atheist, post-modern. I was honestly and truly stoked to jump into the work that was already happening for the glory of God and the good of the city.

We moved seven and a half years ago. It's been a very educational and humbling experience. I am certain that God is at work in me through the relationships I've formed in this place and through the things I've learned about history and humanity through the lens of my diverse neighbors and friends. The themes of these lessons have been this: life and faith and people and sociopolitical issues are much more complex than the conservative/liberal, Republican/Democrat dichotomy of American politics. People are complicated. Situations are nuanced. There are a great many ways to flesh out the Christian faith that are holy and right and good. There is room for emotion in the life of a believer. There is a place in the Body of Christ for a Bleeding Heart Moderate.

That brings us to this day.

Today America inaugurated a president that I am vehemently opposed to. Donald Trump actually triggers a negative physical response in my heart and gut. He stands against a great many deep, God given, convictions that I hold. I don't just disagree with his politics, I legitimately fear that the policies which he promotes will be harmful to people that I have, in the spirit of Christian Love, linked arms with as friends and neighbors. To support Donald Trump would be at direct odds with the commandment to love my neighbor. To show kindness to his supporters means I am faced with the equally weighty commandment to love my enemy.

On this weird, misty, gray January day, I am steeped in an ironic contradiction...in this matter, my enemy is very likely to be singing hymns right next to me on Sunday morning.  That isn't the way I learned that doctrine. People who are opposed to my beliefs come from OUTSIDE the church, right? In God's family we're all on the same team, right?

Frankly, that has been the most challenging thing about this whole Donald Trump business. If I wasn't a member of the evangelical Christian faith community, there would be ZERO doubt in my mind how I should behave regarding the new president and his agenda. But as it stands, my relationship with God puts me in the position to make peace with my Christian brothers and sisters.

I am going to be honest. It is going to take a miraculous work of Jesus for me to choose an emotion other than disgust when other Followers of Christ  joyfully lend support to policies that I believe are unjust. And while the security of my soul does not rest on the United State government, the health of my soul rests on being obedient to the Word of God which says, love your neighbor and love your enemy and love one another as I have loved you. I'm just unsure of what that looks like on a day like today.