Mother’s Day is often a time of joy and happiness, either honoring our own mothers or being given special recognition as a mother ourselves. Because of my job (or I’d rather call it my vocation) of working to make abortion unthinkable, I confront some form of motherhood daily: whether it’s the terrified student mom on campus who is torn between her education and her child, the mother who regrets her abortion, or the woman waiting patiently to be a mom but is facing unforeseen struggles to even get pregnant.
All mothers need support and encouragement. Science proves that a new life begins at the moment of conception, and therefore, mothers are mothers before they even hold their child in their arms. They even experience physiological changes to their body immediately following conception before a pregnancy test can detect their child’s life.
As any mom would say, being a mother is both so very hard but also so very rewarding. And this is perhaps one of the most heartbreaking aspects of my work: I watch the abortion industry take that joy from women every single day, and they do it for profit no less.
When the abortion industry sells abortion as a solution to a mother’s difficult situation, they take a shortsighted view of her circumstances and the value that motherhood brings, even in the most difficult circumstances. Abortion has never solved the poverty or abuse she is experiencing at the hands of her partner, nor her lack of education.
The leaders of the abortion industry are moms themselves — Cecile Richards, Ilyse Hogue. They have risen to the challenge of raising a family, pursuing a career, and overcoming obstacles, so they know what they are taking away. Yet they still do it day in and day out – with an unspoken message that other women are not strong enough or capable enough to do what they have done.
A fundamental disagreement between the two sides of the abortion issue is about the mother’s choice over her child’s life. I want to be on the side that encourages that mom, that gives her resources she needs to choose life, that supports her when she needs it most, and who tells her it’s ok, that there is hope and a chance for a bright future.
This is where common ground has the potential to exist between the pro-life and pro-choice factions. There shouldn’t be disagreement on helping and encouraging mothers and giving them the resources they need to succeed.
Women — mothers — deserve better than abortion.
Kristan Hawkins (@KristanHawkins) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. She is president of Students for Life of America.
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