Why I am Pro-Life: Reason #2

This is part 2 of a series of as yet to be determined parts on why I am Pro-Life. I have not always been pro-life and I hope my witness can be of interest to others who are on the fence, do not have a strong opinion, or feel that there are some cases in which abortion should be allowed. I hope this series can be of help for anyone questioning the pro-choice agenda. You can read part 1 here.

March for Life 2012, Washington Post

In my last post of this series I said that my former pro-choice position was based on emotional arguments only. It was finally taking the time to actually listen to the pro-life side that started having an effect on how I viewed the issue intellectually. But that was only the very first step. To say that one side is too emotional and the other too intellectual creates a simplicity that does not exist. What I want to talk about here is the emotional aspect of the pro-life side.

Reason #2 why I am pro-life: I witnessed a passion for the issue that I had never seen before.

Demonstrations and rallies and letter campaigns and so much more were things of the past to me. They happened during a time period before I was born. I didn't know anyone who did these kinds of things. There didn't seem to be a reason for doing these things because the rights that had been fought for were now laws on the books. What was left?

I knew plenty of people who were pro-choice, who believed in a woman's right to choose, but none of them had to do anything about it. For my generation, those laws have always been there. I guess there really was no reason to have a passion for it.

But as I started meeting more pro-life people, talking to them, listening to them, asking questions of them, and witnessing their actions, I saw a passion that was infectious. I saw people who went to demonstrations and rallies and wrote letters to the editor. I saw people who spoke up in what they believed in and challenged others who (like me) didn't have a strong conviction. I saw people who could speak intelligently on the issue, make sense, and show a compassion for women that I had not witnessed among the pro-choice crowd.

That kind of passion speaks volumes. And it did for me.

Over 200 THOUSAND people attending a pro-life rally in Washington, D.C. every January on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade? How come I had never heard of that before? I was stunned!

Plus there was so much more. The pro-choice side focused on one thing: abortion. That wasn't true on the pro-life side. This side of the coin focuses on so much more and it all goes hand in hand: euthanasia, the death penalty, and much more. All those issues along with fighting for the rights of children to be born were like different pieces of a puzzle that all fit together to make a whole. It gave more meaning and depth to the pro-life movement.

What impressed me was that no one had to sit me down and try to convince me of their side. Just listening and witnessing the passion for this issue was all I needed to get my wheels spinning and start reconsidering my convictions. Actions really do speak louder than words. And then you find out more:

Norma McCorvey, aka Jane Roe, converted to Catholicism and now fights for the repeal of the law for which she is named.

Dr. Bernard Nathanson, co-founder of NARAL, became pro-life and spent the rest of his life fighting for the rights of the unborn.

These are just two examples of many, many more. I started wondering what convinced these people, people who had a profound impact on current law, to completely change their tunes and fight on with the pro-life movement.

And they had a passion for it. That was obvious. You have to have a passion for it to give up friends and family to fight for something you believe in. Plus, in all my reading of liberal, pro-women magazines and other literature I had never once ran across anyone who converted to the pro-choice side after being well-known, passionate pro-lifers. Why did it always seem to be one way and not the other?

At this point in my journey I was definitely on the road to conversion myself. I could no longer call myself pro-choice, but I was still hesitant to call myself pro-life. I appreciated the passion I saw for the rights of the unborn, but I wasn't ready to attend a rally myself yet. I needed more convincing.

Stay tuned for more in part three of my story.