The following first appeared in the March issue of MCCL News.
How to increase your pro-life ‘footprint’
Pro-life citizens can make a difference in many, many ways
By Paul Stark
The killing of unborn children is the greatest human rights issue of our time, and cultural trends have also endangered other vulnerable human persons—elderly persons, people with disabilities and the very young.
It seems incumbent upon every pro-life citizen to take meaningful steps to right these injustices and save lives. Increasing your pro-life “footprint”—your overall influence on behalf of human lives threatened by abortion, euthanasia and embryo-destructive research—involves three key elements.
First, we must reach out to women facing unexpected or difficult pregnancies, offering help and life-affirming alternatives to abortion. Second, we must educate ourselves, our friends and family, and our fellow citizens about the issues and the truth of human dignity. Third, we must take political and legislative action to secure just protection for innocent human life.
So what, specifically, can you do to make a difference? Here are a few ideas.
Donate your time, money or resources to a pregnancy care center that helps women in need who are at risk for abortion. (Click here for a list of these pro-life centers.) Help your own friends or family members who may be experiencing difficult pregnancies.
Educate yourself with the facts about abortion, euthanasia, stem cell research and human cloning. Talk to others about these issues and offer them pro-life literature. Visit www.mccl.org for a wealth of information, including fliers and brochures to download and share.
Equip yourself to winsomely articulate and defend the pro-life position—and then do so in your conversations with friends, family, coworkers and neighbors. Familiarize yourself with the moral reasoning that undergirds the pro-life perspective and the flaws in popular pro-abortion rhetoric.
Utilize books like “Defending Life” by Francis Beckwith (Cambridge University Press, 2007), “Embryo” by Robert George and Christopher Tollefsen (Doubleday, 2008), “Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments” by Randy Alcorn (Multnomah, 2000) and “The Case for Life” by Scott Klusendorf (Crossway, 2009).
Write a letter to the editor or call in to a radio talk show regarding a right-to-life issue. Use pro-life pins, wristbands, t-shirts and yard signs to spark conversations with others. Contribute to message boards and blogs on the Web, and take advantage of social networking sites like Facebook. Consider starting your own blog via a Web site such as www.blogger.com.
Start pro-life work within your church. Organize a pro-life task force, set up a pro-life table on Sunday and encourage your pastor to become more active.
Attend and promote MCCL events, such as the Jan. 22 March for Life, Student Day at the Capitol and the Fall Tour. Get involved with your local MCCL chapter to make a difference in your community.
Write, call or meet with your elected officials in your district, St. Paul and Washington, D.C., urging them to stand up for vulnerable human life. Always press them to take the pro-life side on important legislation. Give your representatives pro-life literature (such as that offered by MCCL) and attractively present yourself as an ambassador for the pro-life position.
During election years, donate to pro-life candidates. Consider volunteering for their campaigns, and urge your friends to prioritize the issue of protecting innocent human life.
Give as much as you can financially to an effective pro-life organization like MCCL. Give your friends and family subscriptions to MCCL News so they stay abreast of the latest developments. Join National Right to Life and make sure you receive their monthly publication, NRL News.
David N. O’Steen and Darla St. Martin of National Right to Life once wrote, “Whatever the outcome, the [abortion] struggle itself will alter the course of human history. Each of us has the opportunity and the responsibility to play an important role in that struggle.” If every pro-lifer takes just a little time and effort to increase his or her pro-life footprint, the lives of many innocent children will surely be saved.
Further information and a variety of helpful resources are available at www.mccl.org or by calling the MCCL State Office at 612-825-6831.
