Liberals are people too.

Spending the summer in DC, it can be hard not to get sucked in the hyper-politicization of the atmosphere. It seems that everywhere I go, someone is bashing the opposite political party. I find this to be very unsettling. 

Perhaps it is because I do not feel that I fit squarely into any political party. Perhaps it is because I think that energy is better spent on focusing on real solutions, instead of blaming the opposite political party for the lack of progress. Perhaps it is because I just really do not like confrontation.

But one of the most unsettling things to me is hearing the way in which pro-life conservatives talk about liberals. I want to make it clear, that this bashing occurs on both sides of the aisle. But I believe that those who call themselves pro-life should hold themselves to a higher standard.

Being pro-life is about respecting the inherent dignity of each individual. Recognizing the good and redeeming qualities in each other. Being pro-life means that you respect the person, even if you do not agree with their views. 

This is what I am talking about. This is bad.

Making wide-sweeping comments about "liberals" is not only generalizing and labeling people, but oftentimes, these comments are untrue. Making statements like “liberals don’t care about people,” not only does not help our cause, but hurts us. The fact is, that they do care about other people. Everyone cares about other people. People care deeply. Some just have misguided vision of what it means to empower people, specifically women.

This is also ignoring the fact that not all pro-lifers fit into the neat box of "conservative" and not all "liberals" are pro-choice. This kind of inflammatory language is what alienates those non-traditional pro-lifers. (Check out Secular Pro-Life and Life Matters Journal -- both awesome groups doing awesome things.) What we need to realize is that being pro-life is not solely a conservative issue. It's not just a political issue. Being pro-life is a human issue, one that transcends party lines. 

Still bad.

So next time you think about making a blanket statement like “liberals hate babies,” stop for a moment and think. We are called to stand against injustice and to call out this injustice. But this does not mean demeaning and degrading people. Criticize the policy, not the people.  If you call yourself pro-life, be truly pro-life. This means respecting others, even when you vehemently disagree with them. 

Inequality Begins Before Birth

I recently went to a conference hosted by the Century Foundation’s Bernard Schwartz Rediscovering Government Initiative, the Roosevelt Institute, and the Academic Pediatric Association. The conference was entitled “Inequality Begins At Birth: Child Poverty in America.” There were a number of speakers with diverse opinions on how to solve the child poverty crisis that we have in America. Everyone agreed that this was one of the top social problems in America, and that we need to fix it. Different policies were suggested that could better aid the children of our country. Ultimately, it was agreed that education was one crucial way to do this. Many statistics were presented on how poverty affects people of color in a disproportionate manner, and how we as a society have a responsibility to fix this.

I attended this conference, because I believe that this is an issue that is at the very heart of the pro-life issue. To be truly pro-life, we cannot just seek to outlaw abortion. We can, and we should, have this as a goal, but we must also do what we can to support policies and legislation that will aid abortion vulnerable women. Policies that value the inherent dignity of the individual and seek to empower those in poverty to be able to better their lives. Through support of policies such as paid family leave, subsidized child care, and the Pregnant Workers Safety Act, we are saying yes to life through saying yes to the flourishing of families. These types of policies are important. A politician cannot call himself pro-life and then refuse to consider these types of policies that would help women, children, and families. This is an area in which bipartisanship should be easy.

BUT.

Something I saw as glaringly missing from the conference was any discussion of how inequality truly begins before birth. One commentator made a comment to that effect, but it was quickly brushed aside without extrapolation because it was clearly something that they did not want to talk about. Senator Cory Booker, who gave an impassioned speech about inequality and his deep passion for helping children in poverty, also made comments about the need to support ‘family planning organizations’ such as Planned Parenthood. Perhaps Senator Booker is unaware that the most dangerous place for an African American child is in the womb. Perhaps he is unaware that 80% of Planned Parenthood clinics are located in minority neighborhoods. Perhaps he is unaware that the number of abortions that are performed on African Americans is disproportionally high. Perhaps he is unaware of the racist sentiments of Planned Parenthood’s founder, Margaret Sanger. Maybe he never learned about Planned Parenthood’s “Negro Project.”  Because it seems to me that this is something that is worth talking about. Because the conference title was wrong. Inequality does not begin at birth. Inequality begins before birth. Abortion statistics show this inequality. They show that African American babies are aborted at rates of up to five times that of white babies. They show that today, abortion kills more African-Americans, per year, than heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease, accidents, homicides, suicide and cancer- combined.

Check out this short video from the Radiance Foundation to learn more!

Senator Booker quoted a civil rights activist during his speech saying, “We who believe in freedom cannot rest.”  This rings true for us. We must continue to fight for freedom and equality throughout all stages of life- including the stage before birth.