On January 23, we marched for life. What do we do on January 24, and all the days after?
This month, tens of thousands of pro-life advocates gathered for the 53rd annual March for Life in our nation’s capital. School groups, congregations, families, and political leaders all gave witness to the gift of each and every life – both mom and baby.
Now that marchers have returned to their homes and no signs remain on the National Mall, what’s next? How can we continue to recognize and uphold the gift of each and every human life today, tomorrow, and all the days after? Our work is far from done.
The threat of abortion has never been greater. Even after the overturn of Roe v. Wade, Congress has not enacted nationwide legal protections for unborn children. Abortion drug traffickers proudly proclaim that they break the law to mail abortion drugs into pro-life states.
Two days before the March for Life, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held a hearing on the dangers of abortion drugs. Witnesses testified with story after story of women who took abortion drugs after being coerced by partners or parents and women who suffered serious medical complications after taking the drugs. These drugs have been marketed to the American public as safe, private, and empowering, but as this hearing showed, nothing could be further from the truth.
Women who have had abortions tell us it was not what they wanted. They turned to – or were pushed towards – abortion because they believed the lie that there was no other way. Weary from a lifetime of empty promises and disappointment, the abortion-vulnerable mom can’t believe anyone would be there for her or her baby.
Today, tomorrow, and every day after that, Her PLAN will keep strengthening the pro-life safety net in states across the country, mobilizing communities to open maternity homes and host car care days to support local families. Pregnancy centers will continue providing critical care for expectant mothers, and nonprofits will continue to serve moms and babies, meeting their critical needs for housing, transportation, financial assistance, childcare, and more. Together, we will increase her access to the resources that sustain her decision for life.
But as believers facing the enemy, we also turn to prayer. And then we step up to be the hands and feet of Christ.
Her PLAN has developed a self-guided 30-day prayer guide designed to help you join us in prayer for the unborn, their mothers, and the neighbors who stand with them. As you pray with us, you’ll learn more about who the abortion-vulnerable woman is and what the real and often complex challenges she’s facing are. The guide includes daily prayer prompts for you to use individually or with your church, small group, or Bible study. Also included are reflections from Scripture and real stories of women who have been empowered to choose life when local communities of support stepped up to meet their needs.
Through this prayer initiative, we ask God to respond mercifully to prayers for life-giving help in each of the circumstances facing abortion-vulnerable moms. We also pray that God might use this time of reflection to guide your heart toward the ways in which you might be called to support struggling moms and their babies – to become Her Community.
We march with our feet. We pray on our knees. We work with our hands. It will take a combination of all three – advocacy, prayer, and action – to ensure that every mom and baby is empowered to choose an abundant life and build a hopeful future for herself and her baby. Today, we invite you to join us.
