Column: The Emily Angle – Anti-abortion policies must be adopted

I was first exposed to the reality of abortion in 8th grade.  My class was assigned an argumentative essay, and I insisted that I write about this topic. I began to research, and my young mind was exposed to this  inhumane threat to unborn lives, plaguing modern culture. 

I had notecards worth of stats and felt armed with the facts to sway someone to my pro-life position. I wrote my essay with passion, entitling it: “Abortion: Euphemism for Murder.” This sparked a fire in my heart that has yet to be extinguished.

The March for Life last week drew tens of thousands from all corners of the country to protest the brutality of abortion. The masses rallied together on the National Mall, pledging their support to the unborn.

The army of advocates marched to the Supreme Court building, just days after the 47th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling that deemed abortion legal on Jan. 22, 1973. President Trump’s speech at the rally marked the first time a sitting president has attended the annual March for Life event, a monumental moment for the pro-life cause.

After I attended last year’s March for Life, I remember wondering if I had made a difference. Did my attendance really move the needle? Does all the social media advocacy and public support rally the change necessary to overturn Roe v. Wade? 

The pro-life movement has no doubt gained momentum since the first March for Life  in 1974 on the anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling. Since then, the United States has experienced nearly half a century of legalized genocide in the womb.

The pro-life lobby is strong and so is public support. Millions of individuals feel strongly against abortion, yet an estimated 40-50 million lives around the globe are terminated in the womb each year according to Worldometers.info.

A child should be the safest in his mother’s womb, yet 18% of the time, a child’s life ends in the womb, as of 2017, and nearly one in four women has an abortion in her lifetime, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Thousands of women sacrifice children on the altar of convenience each day, often unaware of the atrocity being committed.  

Being pro-life does not negate the rigor of raising a child. Being pro-life is more than just being pro-birth. Being pro-life is being willing to guide the mother through the birth and life of the child and provide options for what is best for both parties. Being pro-life is following through when it matters most. 

I have heard it said that abortion is nothing more than a political talking point thrown around during election years. It is a polarizing enough topic to garner the support needed to win elections on both sides of the argument. The fact that this may be the case is demoralizing. 

Policy makers claim to vouch for life, yet the results seem few and far between. There have, however, been some pro-life victories in the past decade. Many states passed legislation recently to ban or heavily restrict abortion, while other states voted to allow abortion up until the point of birth. 

Just a week prior to the March for Life, the Women’s March celebrated a woman’s freedom to choose, a direct antithesis to the pro-life cause. The March for Life, however, marched under the banner of “Life Empower: Pro-life is Pro-Woman,” pointing out that women are truly empowered in protecting the lives of the unborn. 

According to Time, the first “feminists” adamantly opposed abortion and saw it as defamatory and degrading towards women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton called abortion “infanticide” and Susan B. Anthony said choosing abortion would burden a woman’s “conscience in life and soul in death,” and was an exploitation of women. 

A pro-life female of my generation is an anomaly, according to the narrative of modern-day feminism. I study hard to invest in my future. I work even harder to build a career. I dream big dreams of what I hope to accomplish. Yet I see a child in the womb as more than a lump of cells. I support life because I cannot bear the thought that a child’s sacrifice is seen as health care.  

Lila Rose, president of the pro-life group Live Action said she hopes to see the day when “children won’t be seen as a threat to our futures. Instead they’ll be seen as a beautiful part of our future.” I wonder when that day will come. 

We can march until our legs are tired and protest until we are blue in the face. Change will not come without legislative or judicial action and, ultimately, a change of heart. We must not become weary in our efforts when life is on the line. There is strength in numbers. Votes speak.
Voices matter. 

The case against abortion should not be a political talking point, a partisan issue or even a religious argument. The primary argument against abortion should be the fact that it is not our right to take another human being’s innocent life. 

I pray that in our lifetime, we will see the day when abortion is something we read about in history books as we wonder how we allowed it to persist for so long.

Wood is the editor-in-chief. Keep up with her over on Twitter.