I realized I was pro-life when I competed in Lincoln-Douglas debates as a ninth grader. The debates were called that after the famous series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas in 1858. Like those two, we teens took part in a series of debates. But unlike them, we had to argue both sides of the topic in different rounds. At the competition, you’d find out just before the round whether you were arguing for or against the proposition.
The year was 1980, and the topic was abortion. The Supreme Court had ruled on Roe v. Wade just seven years before; it was still a flashpoint in the cultural conversation.
Since I had to learn how to defend both pro-choice and pro-life positions, I called the local Planned Parenthood clinic to learn more about their side. (Looking back on this 45 years later, I’m sure they were surprised a teenage girl was calling them just to talk.) After an hour-long visit, they sent me away with a bulging manila envelope full of information — including pamphlets on birth control. Even now, I can see my mother gripping the steering wheel of the Ford LTD tightly as I pulled brochures out on the drive home and quoted failure rates to her.
National Right to Life sent me an entire package of information, more than I could plow through. That’s how I learned of Birthright, the organization founded in 1968 with the motto “It is the right of every woman to give birth and the right of every baby to be born.” Their focus was and is on supporting women.
To me, that is the key to the abortion issue. We must make it so that women don’t think this is their only choice. I remember from my debate days one moral argument from the pro-choice side: “Pro-lifers only care about the baby until it is born,” they’d say. “They don’t do anything after the birth.” What liberals who repeat this emotional appeal are really saying is: Why don’t you mean conservatives want to offer more help courtesy of the taxpayer? That’s not what we conservatives view as the best way to help. Why offload to an impersonal bureaucrat what can be done with love by those in your community?
How I Help the Pro-Life Cause — Besides Posting on X
The same year I defended the pro-life cause in my Lincoln-Douglas debates, a local chapter of Birthright opened in my town of Columbia, S.C. Since then, it has been helping women and their babies (even after birth) with maternity and baby clothes, and referrals for financial aid, medical, education, and housing.
Terry Hodaly, the executive director of Birthright of Columbia, said that the organization has served 1,653 women since she arrived in 2021. That’s over 400 women a year. “We walk with each mom on her pregnancy journey, helping her to become a confident mother for her baby,” she said. Due to limited funds, the chapter can give direct help only until the baby is three months old. But the chapter makes referrals to other programs in town that help from there.
Just because Dobbs v. Jackson overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, that doesn’t mean that the scourge of abortion is over. As the speakers at the 45th anniversary party for the chapter said earlier this year, women facing crisis pregnancies need our help more than ever.
How you can help:
- Donate.
Donating to Birthright regularly ensures that I stay on top of all the changes in pro-life news, both nationally and locally. Plus, I get advance notice of the annual BBQ-plate fundraiser! Seriously, though — all of these groups do their good work on a shoestring budget. Find one near you and help them out.
We’ve all heard of the famous March for Life in Washington, D.C., as well as in state capitols each year. During Lent, Christians can take turns to stand vigil for 40 days outside a Planned Parenthood center or other abortion provider in the community. The year I participated I didn’t know what to expect. I found myself standing alone by the side of the entrance road, where I kept a solemn vigil.
The next internationally coordinated 40 Days for Life campaign of prayer, fasting, community outreach, and peaceful vigil runs from February 18 to March 29.
- Pray
Though it is the least outwardly flashy and won’t get us any clicks or likes on social media, this is the most important thing we can do.
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