How To Be A Good Pro-Life Advocate

Here, I want to go over what I believe should be the proper etiquette and workings of Pro-Life (mainly concerning abortion); this has all been learned and collected by me from both experience and from seeing level-headed Pro-Life people act and react to Pro-Choice. I encourage my fellow Pro-Life supporters to follow this example, or to correct me if you believe I am wrong on a certain point.

Now please read on, and I pray you get something out of it!

If you are Pro-Life, this is how you're supposed to act:

~With respect. The point of choosing to be Pro-Life is the desire to respect ALL life. Whether it's for religious reasons or not, the desire to respect life is important and at the core of our philosophy. Even if you don't like it, this includes showing respect to people who support Pro-Choice. Calling them "anti-life" and baby murderers" is not only hateful and not a true Pro-Life attitude, but it steers people away from our viewpoint. The theme of respect branches out to other proper actions, so I will go on to the next point.

~With selflessness. You are not Pro-Life because it benefits you; you are Pro-Life because you believe women, their unborn children, and their families deserve something better than abortion. You are not there to sneer at Pro-Choice stamps on dA, or to get a sense of pride from debating/arguing with a Pro-Choice advocate. You are there to help pregnant women choose non-violent choices, and to spread awareness of the negative effects of abortion. You are there to spread awareness of pregnancy centers, to encourage people to adopt, to maybe even adopt yourself! There is so much work you can do to show your selfless motives for choosing Pro-Life principles.

~With a desire to do charity. Being Pro-Life goes beyond throwing a bumper sticker on your car and getting into childish debates on the internet. To truly be Pro-Life, you must have a desire to help scared women who are experiencing unplanned pregnancies and their children (and perhaps even to their families, depending on the situation). Relating back to my previous point, you do this by volunteer work and advocacy. However, this can go further: you can even start a pregnancy center or Pro-Life chapter in your area if there is none, and if there is one already, think about joining. There are many scared women who do not know what to do, and they need help; why not be there first hand to help out? You can even think about working for an adoption agency and help children find loving families.

And even if you do not do volunteer work, you can always spread the word about pregnancy centers, advertise Pro-Life events, visit orphanages/foster care, etc. Sometimes even sending some money to fund these organizations can do them a lot of good.

~With virtuous intent. Sadly, some people think that advocating for Pro-Life means picketing abortion clinics and demonizing women and men who get/fund abortions. My friend, these women will not look upon us kindly if their only memory of Pro-Life was a bunch of "Bible Thumpers" screaming and yelling and telling them that they are horrible. Are they wrong? Yes. But what they need is help and proper direction, not hateful picket signs.

If you want to counteract abortion, then do so with a positive reaction. Instead of demonizing abortion clinics, advocate for pregnancy centers. Instead of giving a dirty look to the teen mom you see shopping with her little child, offer her to help her with groceries, or whatever it is. Instead of calling Pro-Choice advocates "baby-killers", write and speak politely about the misconceptions they have about Pro-Life beliefs. Remember, you are Pro-Life for virtuous reasons, reasons that go beyond your own pride and comfort: you are Pro-Life because you want to help those in most need of it. And to help, you must stop pointing fingers and acting so negatively.

_{Also, I am not saying people shouldn't protest at all. You can go protest a new law that hurts pregnancy centers chances of reaching out to more women, or to protest a law that would force taxpayer dollars to support abortions. I am just saying that picketing at abortion clinics is not a smart idea.}

~With an open-mind Science is something I use a lot when defending the human-ness of a fetus. I have yet to see any biological text that states that a fetus is anything aside from a growing human being inside a female's uterus. There is also a lot of science to refer to when discussing abortion and the effects of it, and so on.

However, science is always changing, and we are constantly discovering new things. While I have yet to see unbiased, sufficient evidence that proves the fetus is NOT a separate human entity, and so on, I am open to seeing newer articles on the subject, and on other Pro-Life subjects as well. So long as it is politely presented to me, and I am given sources to look into, I do not mind someone saying "Actually, there's an article here that says this instead of that..." All Pro-Life supporters shouldn't be afraid to be corrected, no matter the subject matter, because we need to be knowledgeable and correct when presenting our cases to Pro-Choice advocates.

And this goes beyond science as well. A lot of abortion issues are ethical and philosophical issues as well as scientific ones. This area is a lot more tricky, as you depend more on logic to think through these points, and not everyone has it or is willing to think about it. Still, don't be afraid to learn about how Pro-Choice people think about this issue or that; it could give you a chance to learn something new that could strengthen your Pro-Life knowledge.

~With love. Above all, act in and with love. I know that not everyone who supports Pro-Life is Christian, but this is a Bible passage that I believe can apply to anyone (and please note that "charity" and "love" were very closely related back in the old days, as love was seen as an action of giving and helping). 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 :

4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;

6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;

7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.


If you go forth and give charity/love with this attitude of selflessness, patience, and humility, you will be surprised how much people will be touched. If you are open-minded and embrace the truth, you will find the right support needed for Pro-Life advocacy. If you believe, hope, and endure, you will help countless women and children, and perhaps even open people's eyes to the truth.

If you are going to be Pro-Life, then do it out of love: for love is respectful, selfless, virtuous, rejoices in truth, and is humble. With all those qualities, who can not do so much good?

Peace be with you.

Related stamps/deviations:

Pregnancy Center Awareness: [link]
7 reasons why the feotus is not a parasite: [link]
The Feotus isn't a Person?: [link]
Pro-Life and Pro-Choice Arguments: [link]
Contraception: How Free Are We?: [link]
Pro-Need Stamp: [link]
"Not a Blob of Cells" Stamps: [link] [link] [link]
Secular Pro-Life Stamps: [link] [link]
Wiccan Pro-Life Stamp: [link]
PLAGAL Stamp: [link]
Feminists for Life Stamp: [link]
Support Rape Victims Who Choose Life: [link]

<sub>If you are raging over the content presented, please turn off your computer and go for a walk. It'll do you some good.

Also, this is not the place to argue over whether abortion is right or wrong, or the affects it has on women; if you want to debate/argue about that, feel free to check out any of the links that I gave at the end.</sub>