The day I became a LIFE Runner is the day I read a couple articles that made me burn with anger, and spurred me on to action. "NOW is the time to act!" I said to myself. Here is the first article: No Murder Charges in Death of Baby After Pregnant Woman Had Baby Cut Out of Stomach And here is the 2nd article: New York House Passes Bill Allowing Shooting Babies Through The Heart With Poison To Kill Them Both of these articles are true! And both make me angry, make my stomach churn, and make me want to cry all at the same time. I defy you to read those and find the justice or the good in that!
LIFE Runners is a Pro-Life Christ centered group that supports Pregnancy Crisis Centers. They are the voice of the unborn child. Their approach is loving, but firm. They are a group that I have watched for several years and feel comfortable getting behind and supporting, and can feel proud to be associating my name with. I am currently forming my own LIFE Runners Chapter in Orange CA. And I have already decided I want to support a local pregnancy center called Living Well. This center is EXACTLY the type of place LIFE Runners gets behind and supports. They are a perfect fit. I even set up my fundraising page already: LIFE Runners OC Chapter Fundraising Page I am all set!
The subject of abortion is a "hot button topic," which is something I don't shy away from. (As many of my friends know already.) I don't care if its not politically correct to be "Pro-Life." I am already a Christian, which is less and less popular or accepted by society. I am not going to stop talking about a subject just because its controversial. But what I wanted to explore today is the root of the decision of a person to be "Pro-Choice" or "Pro-Life." It is not that one group values life and one group doesn't. It's really about how an individual answers these questions that makes them fall one way or the other: WHEN does each group believe that life begins? When does life have VALUE? And when does that life have MORE value than the woman carrying that life?
First question: When does life begin? If you are a Christian you believe that life begins at conception. Actually, I would say we Christians believe life began even before that! Before the creation of the world, God knew you would exist. He knew your name, He already knew how long your life would be, and what would happen to you. "Really?" You say. "Why yes." I say. Check this out:
Psalm 139 13-16
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
Notice the last line, "...the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." God has an account of your life... before you were even formed in your Mother's womb! Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." God knew you before you were born, and He has plans for you! These are promises Christians cling to. These promises give us hope!
Okay, so you're not a Christian. You are an atheist or an agnostic, or what have you. You think I am crazy. Well, I am here to show you where that "crazy" comes from. Why do we Christian Pro-Lifers value life as soon as conception? Because every person's life has value to God. And if it has value to God then it should have that same value to me! Which basically answers question two.
Question two: When does life have value? This can be answered in a million different ways by a million different people. And bottom line, the time when most people value the life of an unborn baby is when it looks like a baby, and can live outside the womb with fairly minimal help. If a premature baby is born and can be put in an incubator and continue to develop into a healthy child outside the womb, guess what... we are all upset if that same aged baby is aborted. Most likely everyone can agree that abortion in the 3rd trimester is abhorrent. Why? Because we all recognize that unborn fetus is a baby. The closer a fetus gets to the 9 month mark the more their life is valued by the population as a whole. However, a Christian values that life, as previously stated, at conception. We believe that there is no life that is an accident, or a mistake. Every human child is considered a gift. Perhaps you have read this in a baby shower card, Psalm 127:3 "Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him."
I know, you may not believe that. But I do. And because of this belief I find abortion at any point in a pregnancy to be an injustice. Human rights should start in the womb. They have the right to life! I do not believe any woman has the right to kill that life inside her, even if her pregnancy is only a couple weeks along and she just found out!
"How about the woman who was raped?" You may ask. Or "How about the teenage girl who got pregnant by her own father, or brother, or uncle... etc.?" "How about the woman who (fill in the blank)." I know you can think of an example where you can't imagine having that baby if you were in her shoes. You think, "How cruel to force her to have that baby!" But, that is what a crisis pregnancy center is for. Women who are in these horrifying positions need help. They don't need an abortion. I am sorry, but they don't need that on top of the emotional distress they are already facing. A crisis pregnancy center will talk about abortion, and not take that choice away from women. But they will tell them the truth and give them alternatives to abortion and encourage women to make a different choice. Living Well's site says, "An unexpected pregnancy can be a frightening time that makes you overwhelmed and confused about your next steps. At LivingWell, you'll find practical solutions and compassionate support to sort through each of your challenges. You are not alone." And there is a statistic that says, "82% of post-abortion mothers said JUST ONE supportive person would have changed her mind." Wow!!! Right?! 82%!! One person offering their support, and 82% of the time that woman chooses life for her baby! That's what I call, being the good!
I have offered this type of support to friends in the past. One example, I brought my best friend from High School to a place called "The Elizabeth House" when she became pregnant. I was attending a Christian University. She was living with her boyfriend, who hadn't finalized his divorce yet and had a young son. And she decided she wanted to have his baby. He became abusive and threatened her life after she became pregnant. I told her to NEVER ever think of that baby as a mistake, even if she was conceived out of some poor decisions, she is NOT a mistake. And then I brought her to this home for pregnant and abused women. They helped her figure out how to be a single mom, how to provide for her baby, and she was able to keep her baby. Today she is married, her husband is a very godly man. And she had a son with him. Her baby was adopted by this man. They are a family, and they are blessed. God can take your circumstances, and turn it completely around. What seems like the impossible, is not impossible with God. Matthew 19:26 "Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
This leads us to the third question: When does that fetus' life have more value than the woman carrying that life? Many pro-choice women are a part of the women's liberation movement. I am all for a woman having the right to vote, to being paid as well as a man is for the same position in the work place, to be treated as a person and not as a sex object. I am good with all of that. But, I do not see how a baby has a place in the women's lib movement. I have heard the rhetoric, just check out this link to the Pro Choice Action Network. I quote: "Even if a fetus can be said to have a right to life, this does not include the right to use the body of another human being." Ummmm, well then, uhhhh, errrr... how do we have babies? If they don't have the right to use a woman's body? Well that sounds like nonsense to me. They say, "...a pregnant woman is not required to save it by loaning out her body for nine months against her will." I say, "Once pregnant there is no choice BUT to have your body loaned out for nine months." The child didn't ask to be conceived any more than the woman willed to have conceived a baby! There was no choice from the child to be in there in the first place. It simply is. Life has begun, and your body is housing that life. Whether you signed up for it or not... its happening. Baby didn't ask to be born, and you didn't ask to be pregnant.
I know, they are talking about rape or becoming pregnant when they didn't choose to become pregnant. And that they have the right to have sex and not get pregnant. Well, I don't really agree with that last statement completely either. There are a lot of things society says they have a right to, and its just not so. Sex isn't a right, it's a privilege. Its something that is supposed to be shared by a wife and a husband. Privilege and "it's my right" often get mixed up in society. But this might get me too far off topic, so I digress. As far as rape, or other unfortunate type of circumstances, I have a heart. I feel their pain, and I want to help. And the only way I can help is to support a place like Living Well. And when a woman crosses my path that is in one of those horrifying and life changing situations, that is where I will bring them. I will be the one, I will offer my support. I will show them where they can get even more support. And I will hurt with them. I will cry with them. I will love them unconditionally. Why? Because THAT is what they need. They don't need an abortion, they need LOVE and support. And I will pray they choose life for their baby. I will pray they are part of the 82%. And I will pray that one day abortion becomes the unthinkable. Even if it remains a legal choice.
Here are some more statistics to ponder: 33% of mothers have had an abortion, 64% felt coerced and 84% felt they had no choice. Planned Parenthood won’t show mothers ultrasound before abortion because mothers would see their baby and 64% would choose Life!
Those are the facts. That is the truth. And now that I am a LIFE Runner I will be talking to anyone along my path about all of these things. Hopefully I will give people something new to think about. Perhaps present my point of view in a way that makes them at least understand the Christian Pro-Life's side. And offer people a tangible way to help. Support places like Living Well. Find out where your local Pregnancy Crisis center is. Steer women away from Planned Parenthood facilities. They don't help the women in crisis, they provide abortions. They don't offer alternatives. The don't offer the support these women truly need.
I am sure much more could be said and debated. This may just scratch the surface of this topic. But at least you all will know what it means when I call myself a LIFE Runner. And when you see a shirt like this, you will know what it stands for.
Jeremiah 1:5 "I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart."
