“Why We’re Pro-Life for Life”
What does it mean to be pro-life? That’s not a hard question. The pro-life movement was created in response to the growing push for legalizing abortions throughout the United States. The first of which was created in 1967; the “National Right to Life Committee” whose members called themselves “pro-life” to contrast the term “pro-choice”. Thus, to be pro-life means believing all humans, including the unborn, have a right to life. The term implies nothing more, nothing less.
On campus pro-life supporters have formed the club “Circle of Life”. Our goals are simple; promote life at all stages and help create environments in which pregnant mothers do not feel the need to pursue abortions. Our group has been working toward these goals for 35 years now. Circle of Life has participated in multiple pro-life events, such as the National Pro-Life Summit. Being a pro-life supporter can mean sacrificing a lot of time out of your life; but it’s worth it, if it saves even one life.
Let’s look at the scientific arguments first. A zygote is the scientific term for the living being created when human sperm combines with an ovum. This living being contains the entirety of DNA that human would have if allowed to grow. Even at this earliest stage the human embryo is growing, has a metabolism (and needs energy from the mother), reacts to changes in the mother’s body, and contains the genetic basis for reproduction later in life. This fits the scientific definition of life according to the vast majority of biological journals: “1) A distinctive characteristic of a living organism … as specifically distinguished by the capacity to grow, metabolize, respond (to stimuli), adapt, and reproduce.” Clearly any fair scientific analysis would consider a human zygote to be a living human. Consider the philosophical and moral arguments against abortion. If an embryo developing into a fetus is a life, does the mother have the moral right to choose whether it lives or dies? Take for example the laws against child neglect. A mother can go to jail for putting her child in an unsafe situation. Nobody doubts the value and importance of child neglect laws. If we can all agree a mother should not be legally allowed to endanger her child’s life, it should be even easier to agree she should not be legally allowed to intentionally end her child’s life; even in the womb.
We members of Circle of Life understand the decision to go through with a pregnancy can be incredibly difficult to make. Mothers and adoption agencies need all the support society can give them in order to make giving birth a more appealing option. But at the end of the day, the choice is simple; all life must be protected, no matter how small.
-The Circle Of Life Club
