Greetings, it's Bryan, your friendly neighborhood YAM-NW Co-Chair, again. Today I’m writing about a topic that's a big part (especially today) of Catholic Social Justice Teaching; that as Catholics we are called to be Pro-Life - and not just in the case of abortion but to respect life from conception to natural death. To address, #WhyWeMarch and how even as a man, I can be Pro-Life and Pro-Women.

*Note: I am not a theologian, nor a Catholic Social Justice expert. I am simply sharing my narrative and experiences and how that has made me a Pro-Life advocate. So yes, this is purely my opinion =)

Over the last couple of weeks, Pro-Lifers have had their practice runs with their local Marches for Life in their communities (Chicago's was last weekend on the 12th). Now practice-time is over and it's game-time. As I type, right now Pro-Life pilgrims are converging and gathering in Washington DC for the 45 ^th March for Life. Due to the Roe v. Wade decision, abortion was made legal; and as a country, I believe that we are still suffering the repercussions of that decision.

And every year, Pro-Lifers face the same questions: Why are you against women? What is wrong with abortion? Shouldn’t women be empowered to make decisions about their bodies? And as Catholics, how do we respond to that? Especially us men, who don’t know and can’t truly understand what it means to be pregnant, how can we dare to say that we are Pro-Life and Pro-Women? Doesn’t this stink of a male-dominated patriarchy and an attempt to keep women in the house? And in the end, it calls into question, why do we march? That’s a lot of questions, and a lot of emotion that runs through it all.

Before I go on, let me tell y’all a little bit about my journey to being Pro-Life. I first learned about abortion in my high school religion class. When it came up, we were told that the Catholic Church is against abortion because life is precious and that was about it. Not a lot of deeper discussion. So, as a high schooler, I knew that the Church said that abortion is wrong, but was left to my own devices to fill in the details. At that time, internet use wasn’t really all that easy (going back to the dial-up age), so I really didn’t have a good way to educate myself because talking about this with my parents was just way too awkward to my teenage self. And my friends knew about as little as I did. And there was no one else I felt comfortable talking to about it. So, with little to go on aside from what I gleaned in religion and confirmation classes, I was mostly led by popular media. So, I ended up making selective rationalizations for abortion in the case of incest or rape. I figured, why punish the women and make them carry a child that wasn’t their choice?

Then I moved on to college (proud Seton Hall alum - Go Pirates!), and got involved with our campus ministry (Catholic school version of a Newman Center). There I got my first in-depth education about why the Catholic Church was Pro-Life and what that meant. It opened my eyes and I changed my stance about abortion, ditching those rationalizations from high school. Also during this time, I attended my first March for Life, a truly powerful experience. As a young adult, I have attended many Chicago Marches for Life. I even had the opportunity to go to the 40 ^th March for Life in DC with a few other young adults and Chicago collegiate Pro-Life groups.

Now that’s enough about my background, on to the topic: Why do we march? What is it that calls people to fervently and passionately defend the unborn? Why should we, as Catholics, be Pro-Life?

As Catholics, the Church teaches us that life is a precious gift from God, and that no one has the right to simply end it unilaterally. That’s why the Church isn’t only Pro-Life when it comes to abortion, but also when it comes to euthanasia and the death penalty. In terms of the unborn, we recognize the inherent fact that pro-abortionists refuse to acknowledge, that at conception, there is already a person and that human rights begin at that point.

Now, I could go pages (and pages) arguing against common pro-abortion statements, but that would take a very long time (maybe I’ll do another blog about that sometime later). So, I shall simply say that Pro-Life Advocates have studied and refuted most (if not all) pro-abortion arguments, rendering them invalid. And yet abortion persists - so why march? If we have not only the moral high ground, but the argumentative high ground, why do we even bother marching if we can't change things?

We march because of the theological virtue of hope. Hope allows us to trust that through our determination and dedication, hearts and public opinion can be changed. Hope allows us to believe that eventually all will recognize that human life begins in the womb, that each life is unique and precious and deserving of human dignity. We march because it is our cross to take up. Since the unborn (literally) cannot stand up for themselves, we are called to stand up for them. To defend those that are defenseless. Much like how Mary and Joseph cared for and defended Jesus from the Annunciation throughout His life, we are called to follow that model.

So how do we respond to the accusations that Pro-Lifers are against women, or trying to keep them limited via pregnancy, or that we are trying to disempower women? Those are hard accusations to fight against. And especially as a man, that is even harder, since we already start out at the disadvantage. Due to popular media, the masses have been repeatedly told that pregnancy and child-rearing are “backwards” ideals that set women back. That enlightened, empowered women (and men) support abortion because that means women aren’t held back by biological hindrances and can therefore have the same career trajectory and social mobility that men (seemingly) enjoy. And how dare anybody try to deny women that!

That’s a lot to take in, right? How do we respond to that? First and foremost, being Pro-Life is being Pro-Women - it’s not just a saying, but something I truly believe in. However, sometimes, we only look at Pro-Life as defending the unborn, and not defending and empowering women; some Pro-Lifers go as far as to suggest that women must deal with the “consequences” of their actions in order to protect/respect life - not very Pro-Women, right? Those Pro-Lifers give the rest of us a bad rap.

Now I know what you’re probably wondering: Bryan, isn’t that what being Pro-Life all about? That the main reason a woman shouldn’t get an abortion is because there is a baby and we need to protect that baby? Yes, if you look at it in the simplest of ways only. But we can, and are called upon, to go further, to think deeper. If we are to call ourselves Pro-Life, shouldn’t we look to uphold the dignity of women (the mothers) as well? As I mentioned above, abortion has gotten popular support for a myriad of reasons, but we should not forget that abortion also is an option because of lack of support from men and the greater overall community when it comes down to mothers and motherhood.

As a man, it disappoints me greatly when I hear other men talk on how they view women only as objects of conquest or sexual satisfaction. Or when they take themselves out of the equation when it comes to pregnancy. Surprise gents! She didn’t get pregnant on her own! Then they look at all that goes with pregnancy as the woman’s responsibility. Sorry (not sorry), it doesn’t work out that way. As Pro-Life Men, we need to be better at upholding a woman’s dignity and seeing her value and worth far beyond her sexual nature or reproductive capabilities. We need to stand up and be accountable for what we bring to the table and be equal partners in our relationships. We need to love as Christ loves the Church and be willing to die of ourselves and our baser desires to achieve a greater holiness and love. Only by accomplishing that can we men be Pro-Life and Pro-Women.

Similarly, as a community, we need to support women (and mothers) better. Too often, Pro-Lifers only care if abortions are happening. They will go to Marches, pray in front of abortion clinics, and hand out pamphlets, but do nothing else. When it’s baby bottle season they don’t take one or, if they do take one, not return it. As a Pro-Life Community, we can’t stop at simply trying to stop abortions. We must support the mothers (and fathers) who bravely and lovingly choose life in the face of so many people telling them otherwise. That means putting our money where our mouths are, sometimes literally. A Pro-Life Community must support Pregnancy Crisis Centers and other ministry activities that support pregnant mothers/couples and new parents who are having hardships and other difficulties. By affirming the concept that is preached at Baptism where that child is raised by the greater church community can we truly make a dent in the culture of abortion and make a Pro-Life world a reality.

If y’all can’t tell, this is a topic I feel very strongly about. To the pilgrims who have made the trek to Washington DC today, thank you for being there to represent us. March strong and remind everyone watching of #WhyWeMarch and that every child is #UniqueFromDayOne. God bless you all.

And if you want me to continue with more this topic one day, let me know in the comments section (I think there’s one - if not we’ll figure out how to make one). Thanks for reading!