Beyond Protesting: THRIVE

Several weeks ago, a friend told me she was going to participate in a peaceful protest against abortion.

“How is that going to help?” I asked.

“We’re showing our community that we stand against it,” she replied.

My next question: “So what?”

Don’t misunderstand me. I don’t think abortion is God’s plan for either women or children. I just wanted to know what difference it was going to make in her community for a group of Christians to form a human chain in front of a local clinic.

(Image credit: Toby Marks, cropped)

I understand they wanted to make a difference. I want to make a difference, too. I also understand that when something feels broken and we don’t see a realistic solution, protesting may seem like the best option. But I don’t believe that’s true for abortion. There is much more we can do to make a powerful difference for women and children.

And it starts with understanding what the real issue is.

The real issue isn’t abortion.

The vast majority of women who have an abortion do so because they are terrified of what their lives, and their children’s lives, will look like in the future. They believe the cultural message that tells them their only options are abortion or overwhelming struggle as a mom. This message is the real issue, because it’s why women choose abortion.

So saying to women, “Hey, abortion is wrong. Don’t do it!” doesn’t make much of a difference.

But if we say to them, “There actually is a third path – a way you and your child can thrive,” we provide them with another choice.

My friend’s plan for making a difference stood in stark contrast to something I had witnessed that very same week: a Caris event called THRIVE. During THRIVE, women shared their journeys — from feeling little or no hope for their future, to finding connection with a ProGrace community (both at Caris and local churches) to finally achieving accomplishments and living out dreams that seemed impossible when they first found out they were pregnant.

This is the ProGrace plan for making a difference. Imagine communities of acceptance and support  — communities that offer this third option to women — springing up all over our country. Imagine how they could challenge the cultural message about what is possible for women and children after an unplanned pregnancy! Instead of rallying people for a one-day human chain protest, what if we engaged local churches to open their doors and extend grace – the same grace we all have received – to women who are wrestling with this negative story around unplanned pregnancy?

We’ve had 40 years of protesting. Let’s see what God will do when we unleash His grace through our churches. Let’s see what He will do when we demonstrate that there is a third option of hope. Let’s see what He will do when we proclaim that He wants both the woman and the child to thrive, during and after an unplanned pregnancy.

by Angie Weszely, @angieweszely