Just a few months back, during my drive home from work, I was tailgated by a speeding car with a license plate that urged me to “choose life.” I noticed the hypocrisy immediately. How could someone value the life of the unborn while placing the lives of others at risk with reckless driving? Perhaps the car was driven by a man with a passenger in the midst of labor or some other emergency. I do not know. Even though that experience is a weak example of the hypocrisy found in some of the so-called pro-life groups, it was enough to initiate the question of what does it mean to be truly pro-life.
As I stated, the speeding car was a poor example of the hypocrisy found among some pro-lifers. But for many Pensacolians, there are two terrible examples: Michael Griffin and Paul Hill. These two men shot and killed abortion doctors and escorts at Pensacola abortion clinics back in the early 1990’s. Apparently these men forgot or ignored the teachings of Christ, who is the perfect example of what it means to be pro-life.
Unfortunately, the hypocrisy can be found in other areas of our society. Take, for example, the political positions of some pro-lifers. Many support massive spending on the military while taking strong stances against increases in healthcare funding. I guess they are not pro-life when it comes to people dying due to a lack of access to affordable healthcare. And what about the hungry and the poor found all over the world? How can one claim to be pro-life while withholding compassion towards the needy? And how can someone claim to be pro-life while abusing a child, spouse, or co-worker. Of course, most pro-life folks, Christian and non-Christian alike, are not compassionless pro-war wife beaters. However, my point is this: pro-life is not a political stance, it is a way of life. It is a natural result of integrating Christ’s charge to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” into our daily lives. So, as I remember that speeding car with the pro-life license plate, I remember that all of us (me too) need to look at our pattern of living and see if we are indeed pro-life.
