Ever since the reversal of Roe v. Wade, I have just felt a sinking in my soul. This has perplexed me because I am pro-life: I do believe that life begins at conception, and I have also volunteered at a crisis pregnancy ministry in their care center. I think that God has given me the burden of so many women who are terrified, indignant, or just angry at the ruling. I know also that this is a pivotal time for the church in the way Christians proceed from this place, and I fear and see that in many ways the response has not been Christ-like and may turn people away from Jesus.

The purpose of this writing is not to argue my position on Roe but to lay out a path for Christians in the light of Roe. The right to an abortion will now be decided by individual states. But the support and care of women in these situations is firmly in the hands of the church…or at least it needs to be.

In church recently, I was blessed to hear the testimonial from a young woman who at age 19 found herself with an unexpected pregnancy. Raised in a church and youth group, she knew that the last place that she could turn was her church as there would be no grace for her there. By the grace of God, she kept the baby with her life forever altered for the better. She cast a vision for how the church in the future could care for mothers in similar situations: Mentorship, grace, and community. Unfortunately, many churches offer none of these and instead focus on the shame. It is not difficult to figure out how Jesus would have responded to an unwed mother in crisis.

I have some first-hand experience with mentorship, grace and community. For 3 years, I volunteered at a crisis pregnancy center in Fayetteville, which is an amazing place, which seeks to support women who make the choice to have their baby. During the pregnancy, women would come to our clinic to watch videos about the birthing process. After pregnancy for 8 months, they would continue to come to learn more about child rearing. As a care counselor, I listened, prayed with our clients, formed relationships with them, and just loved them. Clients earned “mommy bucks” for coming, towards which they could use to purchase diapers and other child-related items that were donated to the cute store on site. Each and every week, we were all witnesses to the transformation of these women through the love of Christ.

There was one client who I was blessed to befriend. She was not married and definitely did not expect her pregnancy. She made the hard decision to keep the baby, separated from a huge group of unhealthy people, and began the process of making her life condusive and healthy to raising a child. After she graduated from our program, we continued to stay in touch. I would receive regular texts from her with questions about her then 1 year old. Sometimes she asked my advice about financial matters. Sometimes she had questions about God. Without question, God used this child to grow this woman up: To clean up her life, help her make better choices, buy a house, and begin down a road of faith. Her parents deceased, she regularly tells me that I am the one person she can count on in this life. It is an honor. She really doesn’t have anyone else pouring into her life except me. I feel like this is what I am called to do as a Christian: Not to lecture and not to shame but to support, love, and encourage.

My church is a financial sponsor of this pregnancy center, and some people choose to volunteer there. But their program often reaches capacity, and the timing on the classes doesn’t always fit people’s schedules. In this post-Roe world, I can imagine that these types of clinics are going to be busier than every. So instead of moping in my post-Roe funk, I have taken some positive steps within my own church to have a conversation about reaching out to women in crisis the way Jesus would. What if my church was where women with unplanned pregnancies came first? What if we could pair women with a mentor for support and to walk along-side them? Could we help women in crisis to find community that would truly transform their lives? Are we qualified or trained? Heavens no. Have we raised our own kids and have a heart for others? Absolutely. And are we willing to shower women with the same grace that we have received in our own lives? The possibilities are limitless.

To me, this is the correct definition of pro-life: Valuing the life of a fetus as we walk along-side and love the new mother and child. Are there other systemic issues that need to be addressed. Absolutely. The list is long from paid maternity leave, affordable child-care, and quality and available childcare. None of these should be political issues, and I call upon Congress as well as the General Assembly to tackle each and every one if them in single-issue bills without other amendments attached. I would venture to say that any politician that opposes abortion but is not willing to make the systemic changes is a hypocrite and does not deserve to have a voice on this issue.

I know that there are many other thorny issues related to abortion such as the life of the mother, rape, and incest. Legislators who have made policy without accurate medical information or considered the social/emotional/financial concerns of new mothers have not made good laws: They have simply imposed their views on others without taking care of women and children the way Christ would have. Furthermore, the dogmatic approach that does not address these issues is generating anger and resentment towards the church and Christians.

In closing, my heart is a little less heavy now that I know what I can do to help. I know that I am called to serve and to love. It is a good place to be. The storm is undoubtedly going to continue to rage around this issue. I am going to do what God has shown me to do, and I would be honored if you would create a movement where you live to support women and children in Arkansas. Arkansans, we are likely to have a bunch more babies in the coming year! Who will be Jesus in the flesh and walk alongside these neighbors. The answer is not someone else’s mirror: It is in your own.

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It has been suggested that feminism is an unnecessary distinction: women should not be singled out, what is important is that we focus on equal rights for all. This may sound good, even unifying on the surface, but such talk is a divisive ploy to distract from the movement, much like saying “All Lives Matter” in response to “Black Lives Matter.” Such rhetoric seeks to deny that there is a specific group hurting or in need of immediate attention. It generalizes collective experience, as if progress for all happens at the same pace or as if all groups are equally oppressed, and that is certainly not the case. The topic of feminism is so complex that it is split up into four types—all of which share the same basic ideas but go about their advocacy in differing ways. A sad truth is that there is a definition of feminism that consists of a strong bias against females. And the worst part is that close to 90 percent of the world’s population falls under that definition. It is vital to humanity for feminism to thrive.

One common feminist misconception:

“I’m not a feminist because I don’t hate men.” (Brown)

From one study done in the article titled, What is Feminism? College Students’ Definition and Correlates, college men and women were asked to define the term in their own words. The women’s definitions focused on male/ female similarities and equal rights. On the other hand, the men described a from of feminists hate all men. Over the course of the entire study, under half of all participants said that they identify as feminist.

Although under half identified with the term, most identified with humanism. The humanist ideas include that all humans deserve equal rights. When asked “Are you a feminist?” one answer was, “As a man, I am a feminist because I am a humanist. A feminist is a humanist.” 

Humanists and feminists are the same except in one way: feminists focus on gender mistreatment, how we are equal and deserve equal rights and treatment regardless of gender. Humanists argue that, yes, women have had unfair treatment, but so have African Americans, immigrants and the LGBTQ community. Humanists argue we focus on all inequity and say, “equal rights for EVERYONE.” 

Although most have heard of feminism, it means different things to different people. In the same article, celebrities interviewed has different definitions. Miley Cyrus says, “because I tell women not to be scared of anything.” Emma Watson says that she is a feminist because she believes that “men and women should have equal rights.” Both have the same idea for the most part, but they are also very different. While Miley says that she does not want women to be scared of anything, being treated unfairly would be included in that list. And Emma states that she believes women and men should have equal rights. As one can see, a man is never scared of being greeted, “good morning ladies” in front of other professionals of the opposite gender.

However, Bryan Robinson from Forbes Magazine wrote an article about a young female doctor with this very dilemma.  According to Robinson, a young female surgeon was standing over a patient alongside three male surgeons when the lead surgeon walked in. The leader then greeted the group with the phrase,

“Good morning, gentlemen.”

After that, the female greeted the lead surgeon in hopes that he would recognize her as a woman, or even as a person, but he paid her no mind. (Robinson) He completely ignored her, leaving her disrespected and humiliated in her own place of work. This took place in 2021. 

Misogynistic/ adjective: strongly prejudiced against women (The Merriam-Webster.Com Dictionary).

A study done in 2020 that found nearly 90 percent of the world population is biased against women. Such bias can range from just the idea that men are stronger than women to the belief that men are all around more superior. One common assumption is that men are better politicians and business leaders than women.  If this does not make society understand that males and females are not equally oppressed, what will? Obviously only close to 10 percent of the whole world thinks that women and men should be treated and thought of as equal, but yeah, humanism is the better option. In what world? Is it the world everyone wished we lived in? News flash: the world will not change if all anyone does is hide behind their fear of change with the humanism idea.

In an article titled, “Feminist Theory: A Summary for A-Level Sociology” Karl Thomson explains that there are four types of feminism: radical, Marxist, liberal, and difference. Radical feminism is more of the active feminism. This type is generally the one that is actively involved and sets up refuges for women that have been victim to male violence. On the topic of Marxist feminism, the idea that in order for there to be peace, men and women need to work alongside each other, and that the male and female emotional levels balance each other out perfectly. Marxist feminism is built on the belief that the world is set up for success, the world just chooses to deny the fact that we need each other. Liberal feminism takes a more peaceful approach; for example, creating children’s books that educate the younger population about the importance of feminism. They often have “probably had the most impact on women’s lives.” (Thomson)

The next type in Thompson’s article is difference feminists. This idea is based off the beliefs that the whole feminist theory is criticized for being essentialist. They feed off of the world’s beliefs that a set of ideas or characteristics are true if they are just thought of as true. That is not the case. Feminism IS needed, and just because some want it to be does not mean it will just magically be enforced or widely believed.

So, why would we need feminism and humanism to be two separate sets of ideas? Why would we need feminism if we have humanism already?

It is simple: feminists believe that in order to change the way the world views women, then we have to change what the world thinks of women first. Women are our mothers, wives, sisters, partners, friends, co- workers, lovers, cousins, and grandmothers, just to name a few. Women are vital to our society for life to continue; it is time for the world to wake up and realize that women require higher esteem based on gender equality. Who else can literally give birth, come on now.

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