This past week, some of the HOPE team joined hundreds of thousands in Washington DC for the 44th annual March for Life. We didn’t march to divide or argue. Our motivation was not out of anger or bitterness. We marched for every life…from the womb to the tomb.
Consistency, coupled with persistency, is key. This march and those in attendance have focused on a life-movement seeking to achieve a very lofty goal. We desire to see every life celebrated and for abortion to be unthinkable in a civilized society.
This type of heart change doesn’t occur with a piece of legislation, a decision from the courts, or a simple march. These are good, but these alone will not provide the change needed. This heart change occurs with real engagement. This is why we marched – to bring attention to the movement, promote dialogue, and to give voice to the issue that will define the millennial generation.
Abortion has been the law of the land for 44 years. Since that court decision in 1973, we have seen almost 60 million lives lost. This number is alarming but it doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of lives impacted by abortion. Today we have moms without daughters, dads without sons, grandparents without grandchildren, and brothers without sisters.
Abortion has a far-reaching and devastating path of destruction. The womb is ground zero, but the ripple effects are very real and damaging to so many.
Many refuse to recognize this and choose to paint those of us who stand for life as hateful and anti-woman. This is a false dichotomy. Our detractors know this, but choose to pigeon-hole the life-movement to easily maligned stereotypes. This isn’t helpful or honest, but it assists their narrative so they use it liberally.
My disdain for the type of wasteful energy used to paint a movement with a broad brush is real, but that false dichotomy doesn’t define me or anyone on staff at HOPE. We choose to go to work every day for the silenced members of our society. Yes, this certainly includes those in the womb, but it doesn’t stop there.
Many of our patients have been silenced. They have been told they aren’t good enough, they will never make it, or they cannot have their baby and their dreams. Our goal is to love them and assist them in navigating the choices set before them.
There is a good chance you didn’t hear much about the march on January 27th. There are a number of reasons for this, but I will refrain from opining here. My focus cannot be on what is and is not to be considered news. Our focus must, instead, be dialed in to our mission…Empowering healthy choices for life by providing compassionate, holistic reproductive healthcare.
Our mission is a simple one. We are going to love and provide for our patients. Their lives matter to us. I realize that this is difficult for some to understand, but I will do my best to speak clearly. We care so much about the men, women, and unborn babies in our community that we are willing to remove anything that may be a barrier to them finding proper care. This is why we do not charge our patients a dime. We provide our services, parenting classes, and baby showers absolutely free.
We put in this effort and cost because we believe our patients deserve this care. We choose not to wait on the government or someone else to step in to offer assistance. This is a need we can meet and we are honored to partner with so many in this community and around the country to do this work.
We understand that marching alone will not bring the change we seek. Yet, we marched – why? Marching in DC represents the aforementioned consistency and persistency. We plan to march, engage our communities, vote, pray, serve, and love until the goal is reached and all life is valued in this country. This is truly a both/and movement. The sidelines must not be our home because the work is done in the trenches. Join us!
posted by Andrew Wood, Executive Director of Hope Resource Center
