Our family’s Catholic parish hosted pro-life activist Margie Christie for a ‘town hall’ on the upcoming special election. While I applaud our parish for engaging in community activism, I have found myself wondering why the issue of abortion seems to be driving the discourse at the expense of every other social concern.
Christie’s op-ed published by the Dayton Daily News last summer is the perfect example of this criticism. Her letter titled ‘We need to better support mothers and fathers,’ ignores the support expectant parents need most.
There is no mention of fighting for a living wage so that mothers can afford shelter, food, and recreation.
Margie Christie fails to mention America’s broken healthcare system that saddles new parents with thousands in debt and is the leading cause of bankruptcy in America.
There are no cries for government funded childcare or universal preschool to support working families.
Fixing each of these concerns (economic stability, affordable healthcare, and universal childcare) should be the cornerstones of any pro-life agenda. Sadly, they are not.
We have been falsely conditioned to believe that conservatives have a monopoly on the pro-life agenda.
The reality supported by facts paints a much different picture. Studies have shown definitively that there are more unwanted pregnancies in Republican-controlled states as a result of greater child poverty, ineffective sex education, and decreased access to contraceptives. There may be less abortions in red states, but many women drive across state lines to seek abortions elsewhere.
Conservatives cling to the solution of abortion bans because it is much simpler and cheaper than solving the underlying problems that lead to abortions in the first place.
So why are Christian conservatives so obsessed with the pro-life movement at the expense of everything else Jesus preached?
As much as I’d love to point the finger somewhere else, I really have no one to blame but myself.
I could be disappointed by my parish for their partisan activism, but I’ve never approached them to offer my own speaking engagements to provide a more progressive perspective. As a Catholic, Pope Francis has paved the way for so many great conversations I could have with parishioners on liberal talking points like environmental stewardship, immigration reform, wealth inequality, and more.
Conservative Christians are so obsessed with pro-life advocacy because too many progressives like myself stay silent. I intend to change that, and I encourage readers to do the same.
Noah Zorbaugh is an IT Consultant with a diverse background working with industry-leading silicon valley, health care, and manufacturing companies.
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