Pro-Life Christians Are Pro-Woman
The Claim
The accusations began almost immediately after the Supreme Court issued its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. Or perhaps, more accurately, the accusations intensified.
The oft-repeated accusation is that Christians only care about pre-born life and that we stop caring about life after a child is born. Christians, many claim, do not actually love the poor, the downtrodden, the oppressed, the widows, the unwed mothers, or orphans. Christians, many claim, do not actually do anything to help people in difficult situations. The favored narrative is that we force women to have babies, and then we leave them to their misery.
This screenshot, which I found publicily posted on Facebook, is but one example of this argument.
According to Mr. Thibodeaux and others like him, Christians cannot claim to love women and children unless we volunteer to adopt and foster children, raise money to care for babies, offer free preschool, and agree that abortion is loving. Anything less is un-Christ-like behavior, he claims. Anything less is hate.
So, let's break down some of these accusations.
Which Americans more generously give of their time and money?
The Barna Group, since 2011, has partnered with the American Bible Society to conduct a yearly assessment of the state of the Bible in the United States. The yearly study is one of the largest – if not the largest – data sets on how the U.S. population perceives and engages the Bible. Barna and the American Bible Society are still analyzing the 2022 data as of this writing, but the 2021 data set sheds interesting light on Christians' love for their neighbors.
On page 125 of the 2021 report, the report's authors outline a measurement called The Neighboring Index. Respondents were asked, "Which activities have you done in the last seven days?"
1. Volunteered in my community (not including church)
2. Helped a stranger
3. Donated money to a charity.
The survey found that "The most popular neighboring behavior in America is helping a stranger (51%), followed by donating to charity (38%), and volunteering in their community (20% outside of church). The Neighboring Index intentionally leaves out volunteerism inside the church; it is intended to measure community involvement and serving neighbors in a public or civic capacity only. The highest score on the scale is 3, meaning the respondent participated in all three activities, and the lowest score is 0, indicating they had done none of these things in the last seven days. The average Neighboring Index score of American adults is 1.1, meaning that the average American has done one of these three things in the past week."
"Those who practice their Christian faith are more likely to exhibit key neighboring behaviors. In fact, Practicing Christians score an average of 1.4. Meanwhile, Non-Christians score below the national average (M = 0.9), and Non-Practicing Christians fall in line with the national average (M = 1.1)."
The study goes on to demonstrate the key demographics of those who show financial generosity. Generous givers tend to be elders (those in the oldest age bracket), married, bible users, church attenders, engaged with Scripture, and practicing Christians. "Overall, nine in ten Practicing Christians (90%) donated money to charity, whereas only 65 percent of Non-Practicing Christians and 47 percent of Non-Christians say they did the same." Additionally, another Barna study found that among Christian givers, "there is not a strong preference for giving to Christian entities compared to giving to non-Christian entities. In general, about the same proportion of Christians donate to Christian and non-Christian organizations."
Other research has found similar results.
Arthur Brooks, through extensive research for his book Who Really Cares, found that "strong families, church attendance, earning one's own income (as opposed to receiving welfare), and the belief that individuals-not government-offer the best solution to social ills" are the real forces behind American charity. Specifically, Mr. Brooks found that "regular church-attenders donate to charity more than three times the percentage of their income compared to those who don't attend church. Not only do they give more to religious organizations, but religious people also give more to non-religious organizations." CAFO.org wrote, "This willingness to give has been particularly notable in the field of care for vulnerable children. Since 2010, charitable giving by Americans to all causes has risen by just under 30%. During that same time frame, giving to Christian adoption ministries has risen by 81% and to orphan care ministries by 90%. This generosity extends beyond money, too. [Mr. Brooks'] research shows that faith-motivated individuals also share their time as volunteers, their blood as donors, and much more at significantly increased rates as well."
A recent survey published by Adelfi and LifeWay Research asked 905 young adults between the ages of 25 and 40 about their money management habits. Adelfi was interested in understanding the differences in how younger Christians handle their money compared to non-Christians. The survey was conducted between Jan. 18–22, 2022. Results indicated that "the typical Christian young adult donates more than three times as much as non-Christians over a year ($1,820 vs. $556)." When measuring total donations overall, Christian young adults were more likely (45%) than non-Christian young adults (30%) to say they donated to any kind of charity, religious or non-religious.
Evidence proves time and again that Christians DO volunteer, donate to charity, serve their neighbors, and provide material resources to others at much higher rates than non-Christians.
We can see Christian pro-lifers put their money where their mouth is time and again. This is just one public example. On July 9, 2022, Abby Johnson – former Planned Parenthood director turned pro-life advocate – posted the following request to raise $10,000 to assist a woman pregnant with her second set of twins.
Forty-seven minutes later, Ms. Johnson provided the following update.
Forty-seven minutes later! 47! Now, you may say Ms. Johnson could only do this because of her blue-check status. Maybe that is true. But the underlying fact is that pro-life Christians rally around women like this every single day in small, quiet ways. We assist unwed mothers and families in need in our local congregations. We take them meals and see to their material needs. We also serve in our local communities at local organizations like soup kitchens, mobile health care units, job-placement organizations, housing support organizations, and pro-life pregnancy centers. And we do it primarily without fanfare, social media posts, or media interest. It is fundamentally false to claim this care does not happen or that Christians are not engaged in it.
Consider these statistics, collected in 2019 (the last year for which data is available) by the Lozier Institute. "There are 14 community-based health clinics offering comprehensive women's care and pro-life pregnancy centers offering holistic pregnancy support for every Planned Parenthood facility in the United States. That's over 8,000 better women's services providers compared to just 585 Planned Parenthood locations (as of 2019). The 8,000 service providers include 5,300 Federally Qualified Health Center sites that specifically offer women's health services and 2,700 pro-life pregnancy centers that annually serve millions of women and families with hundreds of millions of dollars in holistic support at little or no cost to the client." The FULL ANALYSIS, including maps and a state-by-state breakdown, is available here.
Planned Parenthood almost exclusively provides abortion services. "Abortions were 96.4% of all pregnancy resolution services offered by Planned Parenthood, according to its 2019-2020 report. Prenatal care, miscarriage care, and adoption referrals together accounted for less than 4% of Planned Parenthood's pregnancy care services."
Compare that to the approximately "2,700 pro-life pregnancy centers which support pregnant women facing difficult circumstances with medical care and referrals, education, mentoring, and material support including diapers, car seats, strollers, and clothing. In 2019, locally-operated pro-life pregnancy centers served roughly 2 million women, men, and youth with nearly $270 million in services at little or no cost. Analysis shows pro-life pregnancy centers partnered with pregnant women considering abortion to save more than 800,000 lives in a five-year period." That data comes from the report, "Pregnancy Centers Stand the Test of Time," the second in "A Legacy of Life and Love" report series.
Here is a more granular breakdown of those statistics. According to the Lozier Institute, in 2019 alone, pro-life pregnancy centers provided:
"Almost 732,000 pregnancy tests
More than 486,000 free ultrasounds
160,200 STI/STD tests
More than 291,000 clients attended parenting and prenatal education programs
More than 21,000 clients received after-abortion support
More than 881,000 students attended sexual risk avoidance education presentations
Nearly 1.3 million packs of diapers
More than two million baby outfits"
Those medical, education, support, and material service contributions were provided by:
"68,832 workers, including nearly 3,800 licensed medical staff (25% of paid staff)
Eight in 10 (53,855) of these workers are volunteers, including more than 6,400 licensed medical volunteers (12% of total volunteers)
Over 10,000 licensed medical workers provide care, as staff and volunteers"
Of the 2,700 pro-life pregnancy centers, "94% of them provide material items, 86% provide parenting/prenatal education, 79% provide ultrasounds, 72% provide after-abortion recovery care, and a growing percentage of centers offer sexual risk avoidance presentations to youth (36%), STI/STD testing (30%), STI/STD treatment (21%), childbirth classes (27%), and breastfeeding consultations (19%)." (source)
Christian pro-life pregnancy centers do provide holistic care and support to families before and after birth. And clients who use these facilities are overwhelmingly pleased with the services they receive. "Consistently high client satisfaction rates reported to pregnancy centers reflect that women, men, and youth who visit centers feel respected, valued, and well cared for. Client satisfaction reported to two national networks in 2019 continues to validate excellence in care at affiliated pregnancy centers around the country. At Care Net affiliated pregnancy centers, on average per center, 99.19 percent of clients/patients who completed a written survey indicated that their overall experience at the center was positive. One network has noted the "satisfaction rating is higher than that of Netflix, Chipotle, and the iPhone." Heartbeat International affiliated centers equally reported positive client satisfaction of 99.6 percent on average per center through client exit surveys." These two networks alone account for nearly all (2,100) pregnancy centers.
What does such pro-life pregnancy care look like in practice?
Check out organizations near you like Human Coalition. Human Coalition has built a pro-life, holistic, comprehensive care network to help rescue women and their children from abortion. One key aspect of their work is called the continuum of care. Their website states, "Human Coalition is committed to the child and family even after the crisis has passed. Our Continuum of Care program coordinates long-term assistance through a network of support services already in place. We select best-in-class organizations and mentors that provide support such as financial, job training, job placement, maternity housing, health care, etc. Our Care Coordinators then "quarterback" client care so that hurting families have every opportunity for emotional, physical, and spiritual support." As Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra stated, "By lifting the weight of particular crushing circumstances, Human Coalition helps both the clients and their babies.
Pro-life pregnancy centers such as Human Coalition exist throughout the United States (see the white dots on the infographic below).
Now that we have broken down volunteerism, monetary donations, and services provided to pregnant women and families, let's look at which Americans are most likely to volunteer to adopt and foster children.
Which Americans are most likely to volunteer to adopt and foster children?
According to USAFacts.org, there were approximately 407,000 children in foster care in the U.S. at the end of 2020 (the last year for which statistics were available on the site). The U.S. Government's Administration for Children and Families reiterated these statistics. It also announced that in 2020, approximately 224,000 children exited the foster care system, and the number of children waiting to be adopted fell to 117,000.
How many parents are waiting to adopt those 117,000 children? AmericanAdoption.com wrote that "while it is difficult to find an exact, accurate number to answer this question, some sources estimate that there are about 2 million couples currently waiting to adopt in the United States — which means there are as many as 36 waiting families for every one child who is placed for adoption."
That bears repeating.
There are as many as 36 waiting families for every one child who is placed for adoption.
Let's do this math.
2,000,000 couples waiting to adopt -117,000 children in foster care waiting to be adopted = 1,883,000 couples still waiting to adopt.
Now, let's compare that to the abortion statistics.
In 2019, there were between 629,898 and 930,160 reported abortions (depending on which organization's data you use). The Pew Research Center reported that "the last year for which the CDC reported a yearly national total for abortions is 2019. The agency says there were 629,898 abortions nationally that year, slightly up from 619,591 in 2018. Guttmacher's latest available figures are from 2020, when it says there were 930,160 abortions nationwide, up from 916,460 in 2019."
Assuming (conservatively) that all couples adopted only one child, if we had 1,883,000 couples still waiting to adopt after accounting for the number of children in foster care waiting to be adopted, there are still more than enough couples to adopt every single one of the children whose lives were lost to abortion in 2019 and 2020.
2,000,000 couples waiting to adopt - 117,000 children in foster care waiting to be adopted = 1,883,000 couples still waiting to adopt. 1,883,000 couples still waiting to adopt - 930,160 (the higher estimate for total abortions in 2020) = 952,840 couples STILL waiting to adopt.
The reality is that there are plenty of people lined up to adopt children – both those in foster care and those who would otherwise be murdered in their mother's wombs.
Yes, you may be saying, but are the pro-life Christians who are so worried about abortions actually lining up to adopt children?
Yes. They are.
CAFO.org writes, "Barna Research has found that practicing Christians are more than twice as likely to adopt as the general population. These findings also showed that practicing Christians were more likely to adopt older children, children with special needs, and other children considered "hard to place." Practicing Christians were also nearly three times more likely to have seriously considered foster care. So it is not surprising that Pew Research found that 65 percent of non-kin foster parents attend religious services weekly – compared to 39 percent for the general population."
What's more, CAFO.org adds, "of practicing Christians, 30% agree with the statement: "My church makes a special effort to encourage adoption or foster care." This support is spiritual and social, such as through the offering of support groups—43% of practicing Christians say their church helps with adoption in this way. And church support of adoption is also highly practical, including financial help (18%), travel costs (25%), and household tasks (41%)."
Pro-life Christians do adopt and foster children, and they do so at twice the rate of the general population. Many more Christians have seriously considered adoption and are willing to step in and do so when needed (for example, when the ratio of children waiting for adoption grows larger than the waiting couples ready to adopt). It is fundamentally false to claim that pro-life Christians do not foster or adopt or that the church is not focused on this issue. It is also fundamentally false to imply that there are not enough waiting families ready to adopt every child currently waiting for adoption. Much can be said about why it takes so long to place children in adoptive families (some of the delay is for the child's own protection), but the problem is not a lack of couples willing to adopt. There are so many couples waiting to adopt that they could adopt every child waiting for adoption in foster care and every child aborted in 2020, and still, there would be nearly 1 million more couples already in the system waiting to adopt a child.
Is being pro-life antithetical to being pro-woman?
Let's go back to Mr. Thibodeaux's search for love and compassion for women. His post implies (and others have clearly stated) that pro-life Christians are not loving or compassionate toward women because we are anti-abortion. However, this paper has shown that pro-life Christians are indeed loving and compassionate toward women. We provide financial and material assistance. We provide holistic care and support. We stand up to foster and adopt children. We absolutely love and have compassion for women.
But we also have love and compassion for the child in that woman's womb.
This is where there is often confusion. Many believe that it is not loving and compassionate to speak the truth about abortion. Many believe that it is not loving and compassionate to encourage women not to have an abortion. As pro-life Christians, we argue that it is unloving and hateful NOT to speak the truth about abortion because the results of abortion are so catastrophic.
What is abortion?
Abortion is a euphemism for murder. Culturally, few want to call it what it is, but it is murder.
Human life begins at conception. When a woman becomes pregnant, there is a completely separate human being living inside of her. That human is a child with a unique DNA. She is not pregnant with an orange or a cat. She is pregnant with a human child. Science confirms this. Abortion takes the life of that innocent child. The process can be done in one of several ways.
Medical abortion (1st trimester medical abortion): "A medical (or chemical) abortion is a non-surgical form of abortion in which the woman takes pills containing Mifepristone (RU-486) and Misoprostol (or Cytotec) to end the life of the baby. This procedure is performed during the first trimester of pregnancy. The drugs are approved by the FDA for use up to ten weeks since the first day of her last menstrual period (LMP)."
Aspiration abortion (1st trimester suction D&C): In a suction, or aspiration, an "abortionist uses metal rods or medication to dilate the woman's cervix and gain access to the uterus, where the baby resides. The abortionist then inserts a suction catheter to vacuum the child from the womb. The suction machine has a force approximately 10 to 20 times the force of a household vacuum cleaner. The procedure is completed as the abortionist uses a sharp metal device called a curette to empty the remains of the child from the mother's uterus…This procedure is performed during the first trimester, typically during five and thirteen weeks LMP (that is five to thirteen weeks after the first day of the woman's last menstrual period)."
Dilation and evacuation (D&E) (2nd trimester abortion): "To prepare for a D&E abortion, the abortionist uses laminaria, a form of sterilized seaweed, to open the woman's cervix 24 to 48 hours before the procedure. The laminaria soaks up liquid from the woman's body and expands, widening (i.e., dilating) the cervix. When the woman returns to the abortion clinic, the abortionist may administer anesthesia and further open the cervix using metal dilators and a speculum. The abortionist inserts a large suction catheter into the uterus and turns it on, emptying the amniotic fluid. After the amniotic fluid is removed, the abortionist uses a sopher clamp — a grasping instrument with rows of sharp "teeth" — to grasp and pull the baby's arms and legs, tearing the limbs from the child's body. The abortionist continues to grasp intestines, spine, heart, lungs, and any other limbs or body parts. The most difficult part of the procedure is usually finding, grasping, and crushing the baby's head. After removing pieces of the child's skull, the abortionist uses a curette to scrape the uterus and remove the placenta and any remaining parts of the baby. The abortionist then collects all of the baby's parts and reassembles them to make sure there are two arms, two legs, and that all of the pieces have been removed."
Late-term abortions: "Late-term abortion is a multi-day series of abortion procedures and is typically done through a lethal injection of Digoxin. On the first day, the woman will go into the abortion facility or hospital to begin the dilation process with seaweed sticks called laminaria. These sticks naturally expand after placement, and they allow access to the baby through the cervix. The abortionist will then use an extremely long needle to inject Digoxin into the fetus's heart, which will cause a cardiac arrest (commonly known as a heart attack). On the second day, the woman will continue to be artificially dilated while still carrying the dead child. She will be administered Misoprostol to artificially stimulate uterine contractions. There may also be a second injection of Digoxin. On the third or fourth day, the mother will deliver the dead child. Nearly 13,000 late-term abortions happen each year (according to the CDC, which, they admit, receives incomplete reporting)."
That was hard to read in plain language, wasn't it?
Abortion is violent murder. The word "abortion" masks the shocking violence inflicted on an innocent child by those more powerful than he or she. Someone must speak up for that innocent, powerless child. Pro-life Christians advocate for such children when so few others are willing to do so.
But we care deeply for the women who have abortions too. Not only do we provide material, financial, educational, medical, and other care to women with unplanned pregnancies, but we share the truth about the risks of abortion. Abortion is not a risk-free procedure for a woman. "There are studies that indicate the risk of depression, anxiety, and suicide is greater for a woman who aborts an unwanted pregnancy than it is for a woman who carries an unwanted pregnancy to term [source]." Additionally, here are some additional short- and long-term risks to women associated with different types of abortions:
Short- and long-term risks of a medical abortion (first trimester medical abortion): "In the short term, RU-486 and Misoprostol cause severe cramping, contractions, and heavy bleeding, which force the dead baby out of the mother's uterus. Contractions and bleeding to expel the baby can last from several hours to several days, and can be very intense and painful. Many women also experience nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and headache. Maternal deaths have occurred, most frequently due to infection and undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy. Even after the baby is expelled, the bleeding and spotting may continue for several weeks. Bleeding usually lasts 9 to 16 days. Eight percent of women (1 in 12) bleed more than 30 days, and 1 percent require hospitalization because of heavy bleeding [source]. About 5-8 out of 100 women (5-8%) may need a surgical procedure to complete the abortion or to stop too much bleeding."
Short- and long-term risks of an aspiration abortion (1st trimester suction D&C): "Injury to the uterus or cervix, potentially damaging intestines, bladder, and nearby blood vessels, may occur. Other consequences include hemorrhage, infection, and in some cases, even death of the mother. An "incomplete abortion" occurs when parts of the aborted baby are left in the uterus following the abortion (approximately 1 out of 63 Suction D&C abortions is incomplete). Extreme pain, nausea, excessive bleeding, and even death may result from an incomplete D&C abortion. A woman may need surgery to remove the fetal body parts as well as blood transfusions and antibiotics. D&C abortions have caused complications in future pregnancies. One such complication that it can make it difficult to carry a future pregnancy to term. D&C abortions have been known to cause damage to the uterus or cervix, which can result in very premature births with the next pregnancies. The subsequent scarring to the uterus may increase the risk of uterine rupture during future pregnancy, which may result in death of the baby and even the mother [source, source]. In addition to an increased risk of preterm birth, damage to the lining of the uterus can also cause additional problems for the woman during future deliveries, including significantly higher risk of hemorrhaging."
Short- and long-term risks of a dilation and evacuation (D&E) (2nd trimester abortion): "For the woman, this procedure carries a significant immediate risk of major complications. Since the baby is removed in pieces, sharp pieces of broken fetal bones can puncture the woman's uterus or cause a large tear (laceration). This perforation or laceration of the uterus or cervix, can also possibly damage the bowel, bladder, the rectum, and other maternal organs. In addition to perforation and damage to internal organs, a second trimester abortion has a greatly increased risk of excessive bleeding and hemorrhaging. This is because the placenta is tightly adherent to the lining of the womb at this stage in pregnancy, and removing it often requires considerable scraping. The risk of excessive bleeding as a result of the abortion increases as the baby develops. The woman may also experience extreme blood loss if her uterus or cervix is injured, if the uterus does not contract properly after the procedure, or if she has an incomplete abortion. She also runs a higher risk of cervical damage, uterine perforation and scarred tissue, which may result in future pregnancy complications, such as miscarriage and preterm birth. Uterine rupture can even lead to maternal death. Long-term damage from second trimester abortion is more frequent than for abortions in the first trimester. Because the cervix has to be so widely dilated to extract the larger child, the risk of cervical damage is much greater, increasing the risk that a woman will be unable to carry a future pregnancy to term. The CDC also estimates that the risk of death increases by 38% for each additional week of gestation."
Because we value women, pro-life Christians want to protect women from these genuine risks. We want to ensure women know what they are doing to the child within them AND what risks they may face themselves if they have an abortion. There are many physical, mental, and spiritual risks to women who have abortions. Giving women this knowledge IS an act of love, not hate.
The Good News
Like many of the people I have seen comment negatively on pro-life views of the end of Roe, Mr. Thibodeaux claimed that pro-life Christians do not faithfully represent Jesus. He claimed that Christians celebrating the end of Roe turned people away from God and that by celebrating the end of Roe, pro-life Christians caused people who want access to abortion not to feel the love, compassion, and ministry of Jesus.
Christians celebrating something good (the end of Roe) will be an offense to those who do not know Christ. We know that those who do not know Christ call good things evil and evil things good. But we cannot show people Christ by affirming things that are an abomination to the Lord. And, let me be frank, murdering children is a grievous sin. We best love our neighbors by lovingly sharing this truth and by coming alongside women who are considering or who have had an abortion. We show them love and compassion not by encouraging them to sin but by meeting them in their time of need and pointing them to Christ with the truth of the Gospel.
Every one of us are sinners. The Law shows us how much we fall short of the glory of God. It shows us how often we sin in any number of ways. It shows us that we cannot save ourselves and desperately need a savior. Every pro-life Christian? We are sinners too.
Have you ever told a lie? Me too.
Have you ever stolen something? Me too.
Have you ever murdered someone? I have not. But, I have been angry with someone, and Jesus said in Matthew 5:21-22 that anger is like murdering them in my heart. In that case, I'm guilty of murder too.
Have you ever lusted? Me too.
Coveted? Me too.
Blasphemed God? Me too.
These are all sins against a Holy, sinless, and righteous God.
And every last Christian would tell you they too have done these things.
The truth is, we ALL need a savior.
God created everything good. Sin entered the world through Adam; since that time, we have all been slaves to sin and in need of a savior. But God is rich in mercy. Before we were even created, He had a plan to save us. While we were still sinners, He sent His son Jesus to earth, where God took on a human nature. Jesus lived a sinless life – obeying the law we could never obey. He died on the cross – taking our sin and the wrath of God on Himself. He bore God's wrath so that we could be free. Three days after His death, He rose from the grave – conquering sin and death. When we repent of our sin and put our faith in Christ, His righteousness is imputed to us. When God looks on those of us who are in Christ – He sees Christ's righteousness rather than our sin. It is through Christ that we have forgiveness from our sins – past, present, and future.
Christians are not sinless. We still sin. But we no longer love our sin. Are there some who claim Christ who still love their sin? Yes, sometimes. That does not change the truth of the Gospel. And, Praise God that He is so gentle with us and willing to forgive us when we sin yet again or when we do not feel over our sin as we should! If you do not know Christ, don't judge Him by the behavior of other sinners, for we will surely fall short and let you down. Turn your eyes to Christ alone and find your rest in him. He is merciful and is willing to give grace to all who seek it.
If you are reading this and think you have sinned too much that God could never forgive you, please hear me when I say that no sin is so grievous that you cannot come to Christ and receive His mercy and grace. Join me at the foot of the cross, precious friend. The Gospel offers you the true, eternal freedom that abortion never can.
Resources
If you have more questions about the Gospel, salvation, or the church, these resources may help.