USA (MNN) — Abortion isn’t the only sanctity of life issue, but it typically drives the conversation each year on Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. Thousands of people are taking part in today’s March for Life in Washington, DC.
Abortion has increasingly become a political issue, too. President Trump’s nomination of Brett Kavanaugh last fall created the potential for a conservative majority on the Supreme Court and made the overturn of Roe v Wade a possibility. Earlier this month, pro-choice magistrate Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s health status once again brought the issue of abortion into conversation.
According to the Associated Press, legislators are currently pushing for either more access to abortion services or more restrictions at the state level. Eric Verstraete of Life Matters Worldwide says believers should pay attention.
“We need to have a good gauge of what’s going on in the political world so number one we know how to pray for those who represent us on the governmental level. Also, there are lots of ways we can get involved,” Verstraete says.
Believers tend to avoid political conversations, he adds. Often, it’s an effort to separate politics and religion. However, avoidance offers no resolution.
“It’s really important that we in the Church and the evangelical world not fall asleep at the wheel.”
While abortion is an important sanctity of life issue, Verstraete says it’s not the only one.
(Photo courtesy of Peruvian partner of Life Matters Worldwide)
“The issue is so much bigger,” he explains, observing that pro-life views and anti-abortion views are not one and the same.
“Being pro-life is not just being against abortion. It’s [answering the question], how do we raise that level of human life to a place where abortion becomes unthinkable and caring for those most vulnerable in our communities becomes the norm?”
To Verstraete, calling yourself “pro-life” means you’re an advocate of God’s design and favor for life at all stages, whether unborn or end-of-life. This is the mission of Life Matters Worldwide.
“I think being anti-abortion only focuses on one part of the equation.”
Each year, Life Matters develops free resources for churches and individual believers to use on Sanctity of Human Life Sunday. You can access them here.
Header image courtesy Anna Levinzon via Flickr.
