I am not one to be dogmatic in my communication but there comes a time when words cannot be fluffed. Death is one of those times.
While families all over the country were enjoying the company of family coming together, three families in Colorado Springs spent their Thanksgiving mourning loss. If you haven't heard this story yet follow this link to catch yourself up.
So as you read in the article, there was a shooting at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs, where three people were killed. And while the death of three individuals, on Thanksgiving of all days, is enough to make one sick, one part of this article made my stomach flip.
[Speaking about the shooter] "The motive is unclear. The Planned Parenthood group has drawn anti-abortion protests in the past."
There are two things about this quote that concern me:1) This news outlet has already started hypothesizing that the motive of this tragic event is somehow tied with these anti-abortion protests.
2) Anti-abortion and pro-life are starting to become synonymous.
It's scary, but this event and what the news says about this event should be taken very seriously, because we may very well find out how the "pro-life" movement is viewed to the people of the world. As far as I know, of the three people killed in this tragedy, one of them was pro-life and a co-pastor at his church, and the other two were Planned Parenthood clients.
We still don't know why this man decided to walk into Planned Parenthood and kill these people, but to even think that it has any connection with the "pro-life" movement should make you sick. It should make you sick because the very people who claim to stand for life are rejoicing about death. This is the perception that the world is getting from the pro-life movement.
And if you think that I'm making a connection out of nothing then I urge you to take a closer look.
I want to make something very clear to the "pro-life" community: If you rejoice over the death of three men and women in the name of millions of unborn children, you are not pro-life. You are anti-abortion and yes, there is a difference. Being pro-life is about being for life, holistically.
Being pro-life cannot just be about the unborn. The pro-life need to take a stand for the homeless lives, the abandoned lives, the orphan lives, the widowed lives, the refugee lives, the black lives, the blue lives, the old lives, the young lives, the confused lives, the sinful lives, the self-righteous lives, the homosexual lives, the transgender lives. Every life is important, and if we focus too much of our attention on one group, the other groups will begin to be seen as less important, and what eventually happens is these neglected groups will act like we are against them. If we are not for them, they feel like we are against them.
A Warning to the Pro-Life Movement: Unless you become holistic, it will fail! There is no room to ensue conflict, especially if it only creates a reputation like the one you have now. I plead with you, if you want to make a difference, do things differently and stand with Planned Parenthood during this tragedy.
I am pro-life and right now I stand with Planned Parenthood. Not because I agree with their practices, but because they just experienced death. And as someone who is pro-life, I cannot tolerate the loss of life of any kind, not just the unborn.
In theory the "pro-life" movement should be the most widely accepted group by everyone because it, by name, should stand for everyone.
A dear friend of mine told me that something she has been learning about recently is to celebrate life. To celebrate the life that is, the life that will be, and the life that was. This is the essence of what being pro-life is about.
I urge everyone who calls themselves pro-life to celebrate life holistically. We need to be a source of hope and joy to those in need - nothing less.
