A pro-life leader in Hong Kong told me yesterday that she’s very discouraged by the large-scale cooperation of evil that facilitates abortions. The problem seems so impossibly huge that it feels really overwhelming.
My response was–of course the problem is huge!
The Family Planning Association–in Hong Kong, and in 170+ countries around the world–works closely with government bodies and major NGOs, so that they can promote their vision about life and sexuality. They could not operate without building support for their vision at every level of government, and in different spheres of society. They worked very hard to persuade society that abortion is a good idea!
But my friend is particularly discouraged, because she knows so many women who have been convinced to get abortions. She told me that she knows someone who went to the Family Planning Association this week. A counselor encouraged her to abort, because she’s young and unmarried. But the pregnant woman responded that she has the family and community support she needs to raise her child.
And so, the counselor gently suggested that, in the future, she wouldn’t have enough money to pay for after-school lessons for her child.
Despite the non-stop advertising for tutorial lessons in Hong Kong, children can be successful without them!
On one hand, abortion is overwhelming because it is such a massive evil. The most powerful institutions support it, or at least tolerate it. How can we fight against it?
On the other hand, abortion can be surprisingly petty. If this young woman didn’t already have a lot of support from others, the FPA counselor might have persuaded her to get an abortion this week. Why? Because this woman was in danger? No, it’s because she thought she might not have enough money to send her child to after-school tutorial lessons. How could a defense of abortion be more shallow or frivolous?
And what’s even more discouraging is that this actually sounds reasonable to a lot of people. Yes, this kind of evil is overwhelming.
After my friend shared her struggles, I told her two things.
First, the counselor does not believe that the unborn child has inherent dignity or rights. From her perspective, this unborn child is only a potential person. Maybe abortion is sad, but it does not kill an actual person. So, they feel that it’s perfectly reasonable to get an abortion, and try again when they feel ready to have a child. (This is why persuading pro-choice people about the personhood of the unborn child is crucial for pro-life work.)
And second, I told my friend that we are in this for the long-term. If we continue doing pro-life work, then things will be much different 10 years from now.
This morning, I listened to an interview of a pro-life leader who has experienced unbelievable obstacles. But after many years of “failure”, he is still filled with hope.
His perseverance will encourage you! What to do when a Christian doctor supports abortion.
For life,
Joe Woodard
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