The pro-life movement is made up of a wonderful number and variety of groups large and small, spanning all ages, professions, creeds, and almost every other denomination we can name. Literally thousands of groups are active in the United States alone.
One of the reasons for this wide diversity is that the goal of the pro-life movement is very basic and fundamental: the preservation of life itself. Because life itself comes before any other rights or attributes, no
however different they may be, it makes sense that a cause aimed at protecting the right to life would find adherents across a broad and diverse spectrum of human interests. In this sense, the
Having so many groups is a good and healthy sign.
Moreover, the pro-life movement did not emerge because any religious or political leader called it so. It comes from the core of our humanity, and our instinct to protect our children. The movement developed around American kitchen tables and living rooms.
Leadership in the pro-life movement, as we have both been privileged to exercise for decades, must humbly respect that fact. Fostering unity in our movement does not mean asking for a
cookie-cutter conformity to specific methods or messages carefully crafted by PR firms.
The Left does this sort of thing as it tries to impose “equality” on society – that is, an equality of outcomes rather than an equality of opportunity. It stifles creativity and initiative. If the
the businessman realizes that the fruits of his labor belong to the government and are to be distributed equally, or that positions in a company are opened because of the color of the skin rather than
success, what incentive is there for the creativity and hard work that success requires?
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However, more conservative minds advocate for intelligence and competition in the free market. Everyone has a chance, but where they end up depends on how hard they work.
And unity in the movement means accepting the fruits of that labor, and enabling groups to communicate effectively with one another, and to combine efforts where possible, while respecting one another.
autonomy of others.
Over the years, we have been blessed to facilitate several special opportunities for such unity.
In 2010, we worked together to hold Pro-life Freedom Rides, modeled after the Freedom Rides of the 20 th century Civil Rights Movement. We took buses to various communities in the South, and declared the protection of the unborn as the civil rights movement of today. This has especially energized the Black community, which has been blessed to have many strong pro-life leaders.
We also host pro-life retreats of various kinds. The “Come aside and Rest a while” retreats that Msgr. Mike Mannion host for the year is a pioneering effort in this arena. In the late 90s and early 2000s, Priests for Life led a “Chapel Hill” retreat at the ranch of Judge Bill Clark (a close associate of Ronald Reagan). These are not strategy sessions, but rather prayerful encounters with the Lord and each other over two days. Many relationships have been healed and collaborative efforts encouraged by those gatherings.
In recent years, we have hosted a three-day strategy meeting of the Pro-life Leadership Coalition at our Priest for Life headquarters. We were together just last month, with about 43 national leaders, and I (Alveda) started with a prayer meditation, using a verse I often quote from Acts 17:26, “And He made of one blood every nation of people. to inhabit the whole face of the earth.” As you will read in my book, We’re Not Colorblind, healing the racial divide does not mean closing our eyes to ethnic differences. On the contrary, unity means that we accept diversity at the same table of human dignity.
Moving forward, we rejoice in the various coalitions that assist our movement – the Abortion Recovery Coalition, of which our Rachel’s Vineyard and Silent No More Ministries are a part along with many other healing ministries; our Vote Pro-life Coalition, which helps citizens understand the most important issues, and various special meetings of pro-life lawyers, pregnancy center leaders, and more.
Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “We must learn to live together as brothers and sisters [and sisters].” As one blood of humanity in Acts 17:26, we must be united, for the victory of life from the womb to the grave and beyond.
We end abortion when we help moms and dads trust that a child is not an obstacle to their fulfillment. Instead, both the child and the parents find their fulfillment in giving themselves to each other
love
The same is true of pro-life groups. Giving ourselves to each other in a dynamic of trust and cooperation will enable us to achieve what we want pregnant mothers to achieve in their own minds and
hearts. Make sure we set an example for them.
