A Reflection on the Sanctity of Life

by Derek Rockey

After a summer trip to Washington D.C. with my family, the realm of politics attracted me. I was enthralled by the bells and whistles of Washington D.C. I immediately began to watch CSPAN during the summer between my high school years. As I began to do research and evolved in my views, one issue that became close to my heart was the issue of the sanctity of life. It's an issue that propels thousands of individuals to march each year for the unborn and millions donated to keep the option of abortion on the table. It's an issue that divides our country. It's an issue that seems to get neither better nor worse. How can we move forward? 

This journey has given me many highs and lows. Going to the March for Life was an extreme high. Being around like-minded people who are marching for the same cause as you are is exciting. A low for me was going outside to a planned parenthood clinic in Philadelphia for the first time. It was so sad to see a building that is the actual place where many lives end before even get a chance to say their first word. It was sobering to watch young women walk in and out of this clinic. Although, it was a high point to be able to pray to my God about that building and everything that happens inside. Another low is the way that many pro-life, often Christian, activists are so militant in their language on social media. Instead of engaging in loving but firm dialogue about the sanctity of life, they find comfort in using the same tone and rhetoric as their often non-Christian opponents do. 

Through this all, I have learned a lot about the sanctity of life issue. I’ve learned that I believe that a child in the womb is still a human being and that they must be valued as one. Every unborn baby is loved by God and we should show that baby love by allowing it to enter our world. After that baby enters the world, showing that the baby's value and dignity do not stop. In fact, for us to truly believe that every baby has value and dignity, we must never stop showing that. Many people believe that being pro-life means pro-baby, but being pro-life means valuing that baby even after they are born. This must extend to people who have differences from us, who are different than us. I would encourage everyone to actually go to a planned parenthood clinic. Look at it. Look at the people who go in and out of it. Pray for those people. Pray that they would feel loved by the God who already loves them. Lastly, I would encourage anyone who feels motivated by this issue to look to prioritize loving and convincing their opponents rather than berating them with angry words. I believe that our cause would go much farther if we sought to explain our point of view with love and care, than marching or posting on social media. We have to understand that abortion is a complicated issue that many people feel differently than we do about this.