Obama has made the point a few times, but it tends to fly over the heads of many that consider themselves to be “pro-life”… Obama has consistently said that he wants to limit the need for abortion by providing good health care and education to the masses, which tends to be the prevailing strategy of Western Europe (most of which has a lower abortion rate than the U.S.). Regardless, Sister Mary Jude Jun made an editorial comment in today’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch that gets this point across very well. Keep in mind that she makes no mention of who she’ll vote for in November, but she still makes the point effectively.
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Web of life
The view of pro-life is distorted when only the birth of children is considered instead of the entire web of life. Abortion is not the underlying problem. Poverty and other difficult situations lead women to this extreme way out. What can be done to make abortions fewer and the entire web of life more respected?
If, with billions to spend on space research, we rejoice to find water on Mars, do we have funds for the untold numbers of children dying each day for lack of clean water on this planet?
New mothers often work several jobs to survive. They need child care when they are at work, healthy food for their children and insurance for sickness. Are we pro-life when we forget about mothers and their babies after they are born?
Countless women die in childbirth because they lack prenatal care; sometimes, the babies die, too. Can we be pro-life and not be concerned?
Jails are a multi-billion dollar business; we fill them with our youth. Could we use those funds to give them the help they need before the cycle of violence begins on our streets and in our schools?
Life is precious from the womb to the tomb; in identifying only one part as important while neglecting the entire web of life issues, we lose our values as citizens and the respect of others.
Sister Mary Jude Jun | St. Louis
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Point is: people should realize that there is a clear distinction between “pro-life” and “pro-birth,” and this distinction is frequently lost in the nuance of political campaigning and speeches.
If you’re truly pro-life, you need to look at all the policies being put forward instead of looking for “ban abortion” in a political platform, and then writing off everything else that individual or party stands for.