By: Sammie Gallo

January looks a bit different now that Roe v. Wade is overturned, but the goal is the same. We want to make abortion unthinkable in each and every state.  We want legislators to recognize the sanctity of human life innately as they make laws regarding women’s health and abortion. We want better education. We want the truth. January is Sanctity of Life month – a whole month dedicated to spreading the good news that God created humans with value, purpose, and worth from the day of conception to natural death. To practically advocate for life during Sanctity of Life month, you can get involved in national events or dig deep in your own community and church to engage, support, and show compassion for women AND babies. It is key to the pro-life movement that we recognize how we must advocate for moms and babies – together, as one – if we want to make abortion unthinkable in each and every state. 

While the march is a powerful and even emotional experience, I am challenged to not let a demonstration be the end of my pro-life advocacy for the year. Even while Roe has been overturned, there are many involved in the ongoing work needed to ensure that our government be held more accountable for protecting human dignity for all. 

The more I dig into this, the more I’m convinced that the steps are small and doable for almost any pastor, leader, or member to begin today. Here are a few steps that come to mind:

• Support local pregnancy centers (Heartbeat International & Care-Net):

Volunteer your time, donate baby supplies, or help with fundraising initiatives. I previously volunteered in one of these centers in college, and there is such a need for qualified help who are committed to showing up. You can serve as a counselor, a nurse, a greeter, IT support, marketing and social media, security, etc. Take a look at your unique giftings and see if God has equipped you to serve in one of these areas and then reach out to your local center!  

• Attend a March for Life:

Participate in a local or national March for Life event to publicly show your support for the pro-life movement. 

• Educate yourself and others:

Learn about the science of fetal development, different pro-life perspectives, and the challenges faced by pregnant women. 

• Share personal stories:

Talk openly about the value of life by sharing your own experiences or stories about people who have chosen adoption, or offer testimonies of redemption and restoration after abortion decisions. 

• Reach out to pregnant women:

Offer support to pregnant women in your community by connecting them with resources or simply being a friend. Put a simple announcement in your church newsletter every week that says, “If you are facing an unplanned pregnancy, we are here to help you with non-judgemental support and care. Call our office, you and your baby are welcome here.”

• Contact elected officials:

Write letters or call your representatives to advocate for pro-life legislation. 

• Host awareness events:

Organize a baby shower for expectant mothers, a “baby bottle drive” to collect donations, or a pro-life information table. These are all events that your church can host and sponsor! 

• Engage in respectful dialogue:

Listen to different viewpoints on the topics of abortion and strive to have constructive conversations with people who may hold different opinions. 

• Promote adoption and foster care:

Educate yourself and others about the positive impact of adoption and foster care as alternatives to abortion. 

• Pray and reflect:

Participate in prayer for life, and ask God to continually shape how you could be more actively involved in this movement. 

• Teach a whole-life, pro-life view to your church members:

It is impossible to teach the Word of God accurately and miss God’s desire for human flourishing. Genesis to Revelation reveals that He is the author of our lives, faith, and salvation; so, we must obey His commands. From the senior pastor down to the small group Bible study leader, the local church needs to teach a pro-life ethic that is consistent with and rooted in Scripture. As church leaders, we have a responsibility to help people see their own role in caring about human dignity and the protection of life, especially in its most vulnerable forms. It’s not “too political” to advocate for topics of life from the pulpit when your authority is the Word of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

Remember that all pro-life rhetoric must begin with grace when we approach our brothers and sisters in Christ. Our conversations benefit when we begin with talking about identity – how we were made, who we are, how we interact with others. How we live our lives will speak to others if we really are pro-life. It starts with us. My prayer is that you would ask God how you can begin to advocate for life exactly where he has you – it doesn’t have to be a huge time commitment or financial burden – it can simply mean being obedient to share the truth in a loving way with those he has placed directly in front of you. 

I’m an ER nurse at a community hospital – which means we see a wide variety of cases – true medical emergencies sure, but most often my days are filled with some “convenient care” cases. A few months back, I had a patient present with back pain. She was sent from a Med Express after they tested her urine and her pregnancy test came back positive. She was insistent that the test was not accurate, even though she presented to the hospital with her boyfriend and they were sexually active as adults. 

She had an ultrasound in the ER, where it confirmed she was pregnant. 15 weeks pregnant. Well out of her first trimester and into the second. The ultrasound technician came and found me at the nurses station, telling me that the couple was very upset, refusing to look at the screen when she showed them a picture of their baby, and they were insistent that she could abort the baby then and there. This is crazy talk, of course, but to them, in the panic of their unknown and scary situation, they were verbalizing that they just wanted the pregnancy to go away. They wanted to not have to deal with the consequence of being sexually active and unmarried. 

I quickly prayed about what I could do and what the Lord would want me to do. Obviously, you can’t impose your beliefs on a patient – that’s not our job as nurses. My job is to advocate and educate, and I try my best to always do that. This patient was of a different cultural background, and knowing some of the nuances that went into that, I prayed that the Lord would give me the words to speak the truth to her.

Instead of telling her what I believed and why I believed it (which I so badly wanted to do), I educated her about what the procedure to abort her baby would be like. I walked through a D&C with her step by step, what the recovery would be like, the horrors about the procedure that Planned Parenthood doesn’t tell you. I prepared her and educated her and trusted the Spirit would guide her decision making based off of the information I provided. I talked with her about other options in America – adoption. She was discharged from my care with an OB referral (if she chose to keep the pregnancy) and a referral to Planned Parenthood (if she wanted to proceed with terminating the pregnancy). I may never know what she chose and if she chose life for her baby, but I’m confident that I advocated for life through my patient care.

I’m convinced that is what it looks like to be pro-life. It looks like trusting God to use you wherever you’re at, with your specific giftings, and letting the Holy Spirit do the rest. 

God is still listening, and He has not been silent. No one is more pro-life than God, and in his great mercy and love for his people, he has also extended grace to those who have chosen abortion or compromised the dignity of a human life. Nothing is more pro-life than the gospel, and so gospel work is pro-life work. In our freedom and our ability to do so, we, as followers of Christ, must pray and consider how we will enter into this work individually and corporately. The needs are great and the opportunities are abundant. 

If you’re looking for ways to get involved this January, please reach out to us. We’d love to help you connect with a student group in your community or help you plan and prepare for a trip to the March for Life!