I sometimes get questions from people asking how things like fertility and breastfeeding are pro-life issues. Many people say there is little, or no connection between these things and the main issues they consider to be in the pro-life arena; abortion, euthanasia, and embryonic stem cell research.
To which I reply, “Oh contraire!”
It is my firm belief that our nation has come to it’s current acceptance of the above mentioned practices because we have simply forgotten that human beings are  remarkably put together.  We have forgotten that we are amazing creatures; mind, body, and spirit. We have lost our very sense of self, making it nearly impossible to recognize the beauty of others.
This may be due to many things, but I think that some of the practices that we’ve accepted in our culture as helpful and even healthy actually distract or prevent us from reaching and living our fullest potential. We prefer birth control to our own natural fertility patterns, we choose elective c-sections rather than allow our bodies to give birth, we opt not to breastfeed out of fear or for convenience sake, but what are we really doing???
We are not trusting or believing that we were really made “good enough” to do these things ourselves. We are perpetuating a societal belief that our bodies, and women’s in particular, are broken and insufficient. We are disconnecting the body from it’s amazing capacities and doubting the fact that we are indeed magnificently put together. In this worldview humanity is flawed and man is capable of fixing it. People need fixing. Circumstances need fixing. But what is “fixing”?  And I think you can understand where this logic follows.
We “fix’ unplanned pregnancies just like we “fix” fertility. We simply destroy them. We “fix” genetic illnesses through cloning and destructive research just like we “fix” the problems of childbearing; we manipulate and interfere. And we “fix” the inconvience of old age and poor health like we “fix” the committment to nourish our children; by introducing solutions that free us from giving selflessly to others.
I say the pro-life issues extend FAR beyond the abortion clinics, euthanasia clinics, and research laboratories. The downward slide to these practices start with each one of us adopting attitudes that humanity and our bodies are burdens. Being pro-life begins with us joyfully accepting our entire selves and others as beautifully unique and irreplaceable, at all times. No exceptions.
Every step away from our beautiful, natural  individuality is a statement of self-doubt and insufficiency.  When we are closest to our natural state and living in a way that upholds and honors the capabilities of our minds, bodies, and spirits, and those of others, we are being most “pro-life”.  We are embracing life with every fiber of our being, without holding any of ourselves back.
Sounds kind of new-agey, doesn’t it?
It’s not. It’s pro-life.