There is this cartoon that often makes its way around the internet. In the first panel, it shows a pregnant woman with three men (seemingly politicians) offering to help her. The next panel shows the woman with her newborn baby and the men are now yelling at her to do it all on her own. This cartoon has been used to call pro-lifers hypocrites and used as an argument to justify abortion.
The argument is that it is better to abort a child than to have that child born into poverty. Parenting comes with financial responsibilities, and it’s best not to burden society with another mouth to feed and body to clothe if the mother is unable to do so herself.
Let's support Womenquote from Sister Joan Chittister is also thrown around to justify abortion by calling those who are pro-life hypocrites. “I do not believe that just because you’re opposed to abortion, that that makes you pro-life. In fact, I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed. And why would I think that you don’t? Because you don’t want any tax money to go there. That’s not pro-life. That’s pro-birth. We need a much broader conversation on what the morality of pro-life is.”
While, yes, we must work to support life in all stages, such arguments can distract us from the fundamental problem. No amount of financial burden on a person or society justifies the slaughter of children.
If you’d like to argue that the pro-life movement needs to do more than just save the baby in the womb and work on also helping the mother and child once the child is born, then we can talk. I would like to point out, however, that there are so many organizations out there that do this. Take a look around your city and you will probably find pro-life churches and pregnancy centers that are already doing this work.  We shouldn’t confuse the pro-life movement with politicians in Washington whose social policies do not reflect what pro-lifers are actually doing.
One reason that this argument can be made though, is because we don’t have a big national brand like Planned Parenthood does. When one thinks of abortion, many think of Planned Parenthood. When one thinks of pro-life, on the other hand, we tend to think of people picketing abortion clinics. This is a problem.
I feel the answer to this problem is the Guiding Star Project. Having various groups that support life all united and cooperating under a single roof gives a recognizable name and a face to what is now many disparate parts. Furthermore, each organization within the Guiding Star Center also benefits from being part of a national brand. I also love that Guiding Star Centers not only support women in crisis pregnancy situations, but they support all women, because they understand that even the woman in a stable marriage and with sufficient income still need support to meet the challenges of everyday life. They will need holistic solutions to understanding their bodies and planning their family sizes. They will need help with breastfeeding, and they will need a space to come to that will look after their children while they catch a break for themselves in the coffee shop with a friend. Guiding Star provides support for natural means of family planning, fertility care, childbirth, breastfeeding, and family life.  Imagine a place where one could go to get pregnancy resources; a place that also offers pre and post natal care; a place that will offer employment resources, check-ups, and more while providing childcare for young ones.  How can we support women through their various needs? Guiding Star Centers are the answer! The pro-life movement needs  to be seen for what we actually do because we are pro-birth, pro-child, pro-woman, and pro-life!
photo credit: 13 via photopin (license)