Recently a new derogatory term for anti-abortionists, or pro-lifers, has appeared called pro-birthers. Those who use this term, even including a few who call themselves pro-life, argue that these are anti-abortionists who only care that all human children get the chance to be born but do not really care about the child’s well-being afterward or about other people. Evidence that some pro-lifers are this way, they argue, is that pro-lifers aren’t donating enough money to pregnant mothers who need help, or aren’t adopting enough children, or aren’t volunteering enough time at pregnancy centers, or are otherwise failing to take enough responsibility for other people’s children.

Those who use this term are right about one thing, which is that mothers with crisis or difficult pregnancies and their children need all the help they can get and it is a beautiful thing to help them. Everyone should make an effort to help the families in these situations. Several pro-lifers and pro-life organizations are dedicated to doing these exact things. However, just because someone doesn’t help in these ways as much as others think they should does not mean they are only pro-birth. Those defending preborn life do not only care about the child going through birth, and even those who use this term know this.

If someone speaks up against forced prostitution but doesn’t have a rescued prostitute living in their home, are they only anti-sex and not pro-endangered-women? If someone speaks up against animal abuse but hasn’t adopted any abused animals do people accuse them of only being anti-pet-owner-freedom? The point is that speaking up about an immoral act is a good act in and of itself. As long as it was not done out of hate, you do not need to do anything else to make that action a good thing. If you can do additional things, you should, just like everyone else should, but you do not have more of an obligation to do them than others just because you raised awareness about the issue.

Pro-lifers believe preborn humans should have the human right to life for a variety of reasons. Some do because they believe all children should have a chance to control their own lives. Some believe all humans who are innocent and have done nothing deserving death should be protected from being sentenced to death. Some believe killing any human is wrong under any circumstance, and some believe the abortion process and the devaluing of one’s own child permanently hurts women in several ways. Notice that all the reasons above apply not only to preborn children but to older children and often adults as well. These are only a few reasons, but no one who stands against abortion does so simply because they care only about preborns or infants or birth.