I grew up steeped in the prolife movement. My mother has been involved in prolife work as long as I can remember; I was five when she told me what abortion was, and the memory of that revelation traumatized me so greatly that it counts as one of my earliest memories.
Nonetheless, it’s been a long time since I’ve felt any desire to pass out fliers, attend rallies, or pray at an abortion clinic—although I think those things are all praiseworthy. In the past few years, I’ve come to believe that there are many ways to advance the cause of life, and not all of us are called to the same avenues.
Roe v. Wade won’t—can’t—be struck down until the attitude of the entire culture changes. As long as children are viewed as separate from sex, as long as women allow themselves to be turned into objects by suppressing a healthy, functioning part of their bodies in the name of women’s “liberation,” abortion on demand will remain. And that is why I teach and promote natural family planning. I believe that in the end, we must encourage a culture of life by connectivity—by putting back together what the culture has taken apart. In other words, we have to change people’s attitudes about sex.
Objectification of women begins early, but it revolves around cultural attitudes toward sex. The idea that women must be available always, without risk of entanglements (i.e. permanence and children), strictly for what their bodies can offer, leads directly to both suppression of fertility and to abortion.
My prolife calling is to speak heart to heart at the ground level. To shed light on the things we take for granted in our culture that devalue human life and trivialize human sexuality…to enlighten people who have been brainwashed into believing that their bodies are the enemy, and the only way to avoid having a dozen or two children is to resort to barriers and creation-damaging pharmaceuticals.
I fully expect that I will fight this battle my whole life, and at the end of it, abortion will still be legal. But if I’ve changed a few hearts along the way, I’ll consider my job well-done.
Kathleen Basi is a stay-at-home mom, freelance writer, flute and voice teacher, liturgical composer, choir director, natural family planning teacher, scrapbooker, sometime-chef and budding disability rights activist. She puts her juggling skills on display at www.kathleenbasi.com.
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I couldn’t agree more about the importance of educating people about NFP. I love your points about the disconnect people have between sex and children. People want to pretend that sex doesn’t have consequences. It completely boggles my mind that women can fool themselves into thinking that abortion helps us in any way progress in society. Why don’t they see that abortion hurts women??
Thank you for posting this!
Jamie
For Love of Cupcakes
Wonderful post Kathleen! A few changed hearts is the most we can hope for but a few can change a few more and so on.
Yes, that is my hope. But even if we never succeed in swinging the total culture, I take heart in that Mother Teresa quote, something like “God doesn’t call us to be successful–God calls us to try.”
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