February 19, 2015 (UnmaskingChoice.ca) — If you had told me three years ago that I would be standing up in front of images of abortion victims, advocating for their rights, I would have laughed at you.
Yet, as I write this, I have just returned from a week of pro-life activism, standing up for the pre-born. You may ask, what changed? Why am I doing something that I previously thought preposterous? Well, perhaps my story of how my heart was changed will shed some light on this issue.
I never really thought about abortion much growing up. I had heard about it, but never thought I would have to think about it.
As I entered the late years of high school, I began considering the topic more: was I pro-life or pro-choice? While I may not have considered abortion for myself, I believed that others definitely should be able to have access to it. I concluded that I was pro-choice. After all, why should women deal with the consequences while men get off completely free?
This (in my view) neutral stance was shifted stronger to the pro-choice side over the years. I remember becoming infuriated during conversations with friends who considered themselves pro-life. What about the woman’s choice? Wasn’t it up to her to choose what to do with “her” body?
That view point of mine was challenged when in my second year of university, a woman on campus got arrested for standing up for her pro-life views. I now know that was Ruth, together with several other students. While I did not agree with her opinion, I was amazed at how boldly she stood up against abortion. It impacted me in such a way that I started thinking, why would someone be so adamant against abortion if it's not wrong?
Then one day I attended a presentation by my friend Devorah. I knew she would speak about pro-life issues as she was planning on joining CCBR full-time. That evening, my view on abortion changed.
I saw what abortion is.
During the presentation, there was a brief video clip showing images of abortion victims, ranging from very young embryos of 8 weeks to a fetus of 8 months post-fertilization. I was appalled.
How could I support abortion, not knowing what abortion was? Now that I had seen abortion, how could I continue to support it?
After Devorah’s powerful presentation, I approached her and asked about what I had seen. I was conflicted. Abortion clearly is the ending of human lives, but what about certain circumstances such as poverty, abuse or rape? We talked for over an hour. She used logical arguments, while also showing such compassion for both the mother and child in these situations.
I went home and thought about what I had seen and heard. After a time of reflection, I was convinced. While there may be hard circumstances in life, abortion is not a solution. Abortion is never the right option; we need to focus on ending the problems in our society, but not by ending lives.
A few months after that presentation and conversation, I began to search for ways for me to share what I had seen, as my heart was changed. I believe that women and men have the right to know what abortion actually does, that we should be educated. After all, how could I see what I have seen, and not stand up against it?
Last week I spent a week working on university campuses advocating for life. I wrote down testimony after testimony while using two simple things: abortion pictures and respectful dialogue. Through having conversations much like the one I had with Devorah and by exposing the truth of what happens during an abortion, I saw many people change their minds.
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One young man, for instance, had never thought about abortion when I approached him. He read our brochure and concluded, “This is always wrong. Thank you for being here today.” Another struggled with the morality of abortion in difficult circumstances, but left the conversation agreeing that it is a human rights violation, and then encouraged his friends to talk to us. Or what about the woman who saw an image of a 10-week aborted fetus and exclaimed, “Wow, a baby has arms and legs at that point? I had no idea it was that early. I used to be pro-choice but how can I be now?”
Upon seeing what abortion does, and hearing the case for the humanity of the pre-born, they too acknowledged that humans have human rights, before and after birth.
So what should we do?
Albert Einstein makes a poignant point: “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” Once I became pro-life, I had to do something about it. If you want to make a difference too, consider applying for CCBR’s summer internship. You’ll receive the same training we had and have the opportunity to spend an entire summer saving lives.
My question is this: If you understand who the pre-born are, and what abortion is doing to them, what are you going to do? Will you join me in being a voice for the voiceless, and standing up for those who cannot stand for themselves?
Reprinted with permission from CCBR.