October Respect Life Refresher

OCTOBER RESPECT LIFE REFRESHER 
“Pro Woman is Pro Life”  
 
Abridged--Kimberly Baker--USCCB Website

Recent conversations on the importance of women's advancement have increasingly included abortion access, perpetuating a tragic assumption that 'pro-woman' and 'pro-life' are diametrically opposed viewpoints. The idea that abortion empowers women is one of many lies in society that are, in reality, incredibly harmful to women. Abortion advocates perpetuate the myth that women must do violence to themselves in order to preserve their equality and the freedom to advance in the world.

The authentic, pro-woman position demands a woman be loved and valued for her own sake, exactly as she is—not because she has compromised herself. Abortion is anti-woman because it attacks some of what is most true and beautiful within a woman. Abortion is the very antithesis to a woman's ability to nurture and bring forth new life.   Abortion advocates treat pregnancy like a problem or a disease. Pregnancy is not the problem; it's the lack of care for the woman—for her own dignity and life-giving ability—that's the problem. When society devalues motherhood and the ability to nurture life, making these things a source of shame and inconvenience, it increases the likelihood of a woman feeling like she has no option other than to abort her own child.

A woman facing an unplanned pregnancy should never feel like she must face it alone. She needs to know that others truly care about her dignity and well-being, and that there is help through a variety of sources, especially from local diocesan resources.  Both mother and child deserve experienced care and compassion; both deserve a future filled with hope. When we celebrate and support women in all their unique gifts and contributions—including their life-giving capacity—they will be encouraged to make life-affirming choices for both themselves and their children. To be pro-woman is to be pro-life. If we want to change the cultural conversation, we must be a part of it.