A big task ahead

Abortions increased in most states this year, according to a new analysis from the New York Times. The numbers are a natural result of liberal states pushing more access in light of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022. 

Despite pro-abortion advocates lamenting the loss of “women’s rights” across the country, abortion is still widely available through permissive state laws, the crossing of state lines, and abortion pills ordered over the internet.

Though pro-lifers rightly celebrated the defeat of Roe v. Wade, their hard work was, in some sense, just beginning. The courts were the first step in justice for the unborn, but it will take decades or more to eradicate abortion in progressive states like Oregon, where there is no gestational limit to the procedure. 

Pro-lifers are up for the task. Since 1972, they have peacefully lobbied politicians, marched across the country, spearheaded nonprofits and established more than 3,000 pregnancy centers to help women in need. 

The law is important, but laws will never dictate matters of the human heart—and that too is where our focus must be in combating the abortion epidemic in permissive states. When people understand the truth about abortion and the humanity of unborn life, they won’t need a law to prevent them from choosing it. 

We can glean encouragement from God’s people in the Bible, often trapped beneath the weight of oppressive, immoral governments. 

“Be sure to fear the Lord and faithfully serve Him,” Samuel reminds the people in 1 Samuel 12:24. This is key in fighting the long-term battle for justice on Earth. We cannot end abortion with the snap of our fingers, but we can remain faithful in prayer, action, and trust in God’s plan despite our own cultural Babylons. 

Did you know that 75 percent of women say they wouldn’t choose abortion if “circumstances were different?” Ultimately, this means finances or relationships compel women towards something that feels like anything but a choice—no matter which state they live in. 

This is where pro-life advocates have an opportunity. Already, they maintain and support pregnancy centers nationwide, but these efforts will require even more manpower and money moving ahead. 

Because these centers usually offer their services for free, they’ll need increased donations, volunteers, and advocacy. Churches have the biggest opportunity to partner with pregnancy centers and support families in their communities. With well over 300,000 local congregations in the United States, the Body of Christ is called to activate, provide, and disciple those with this specific need. 

Unfortunately, pro-abortion activists work to publicize misinformation about pregnancy centers, telling women they will be lied to. This means many women will never receive the free consultations, ultrasounds, medical testing, prenatal education, parenting courses, or material assistance they may need for themselves and their children. Furthermore, they’ll never become aware of the vast number of community and public health resources that might provide for the needs they thought impossible to cover. 

We can lovingly and prayerfully continue to publicize what pregnancy centers and churches offer, as well as the many public services available to vulnerable women. State legislatures can begin to offer more for women in their area. Indiana, for example, offers the Indiana Pregnancy Promise Program for anyone eligible for Medicaid. The program ensures that parents and babies get resources like healthcare, food, housing, parenting education, and more. 

If state governments, in conjunction with nonprofit pregnancy centers and churches, put forth more programs like this, many more women will feel able to choose life and parent as they say they’d prefer to. Governmental offers are promising because even pro-abortion citizens can support programs that help mothers who want to parent. 

As we do the long-term work to eliminate legal abortion, we must stay focused on the practical provision of resources and support in each state. It’s one thing for a woman not to get an abortion because she can’t. It’s far more powerful for her to choose life on her own because she believes in the support network surrounding her. 

Pro-lifers in abortion-heavy states have a big task ahead of them. They must continue to lobby politicians for better policies, peacefully march for life, patiently showcase the realities of abortion and effectively persuade the public that unborn life matters. There is no easy solution to ending abortion, but we’ve shown what’s possible with faithful perseverance. Abortion numbers may have increased in progressive states this year, but if pro-life advocates do our job, persuade our neighbors, and reach out to women in need, it won’t always be this way.