In being part of the pro-life movement for 15 years, I have encountered every kind of image associated with it, some lacking justification and others with too much supporting evidence.
Consistent controversy and contempt carry on 35 years after Roe v. Wade. Preparations for Respect Life Week (Oct. 5-12) have led me to consider why the debate persists.
The movement hosted by our parents’ generation is ridden with the notion of good vs. evil. Difference in opinion is not merely a political stance, but the end of many conversations. Logic is blurred with morality and choice is often distant from real experience.
Should the complexity of politics, religion and law leave the situation in the equilibrium of difference, resentment and anger?
No. Life must be viewed from the perspective of society, the conflict’s start. Abortion was a social controversy long before 1973. To amend the currently legal disregard for life, social acceptance and assumed quality of life, we must begin by equalizing the number of resources available for all pregnant women who choose life.
Stipulations of socioeconomic status, race and gender should not limit one’s options for life.
Through increased financial assistance, decreased social condemnation of single, unmarried student pregnancies and increased publication of educational material that curtails the perception of choice being nonexistent, we as American college students may grow to respect life.
Kevin Grillot
President, Students for Life at SLU
