Support Black Lives Matter Because You Are Pro-Life
Evangelical Christians are struggling with how to vote, how to respond to this current political climate. For many, their stance on abortion hinders, in their mind, voting for many candidates whom they might otherwise support. However, a politicians stance on abortion is not the only thing that impacts the survival of infant life. In fact if you consider yourself pro-life, it is incumbent on you to support Black Lives Matter to fight systemic racism and racial inequalities because this is an issue where progress can be made and true tangible benefits for mothers and babies can be seen. If you already support the Black Lives Matter movement, let this serve as fuel to the fier, but this is more for my Christian brothers and sisters who do not, many of whom have their pro-life stance as the determining factor for their vote. There are so many reasons for you to fight for the lives of Black people, but here is one of the issues that seems to be a deciding factor for many voters, the unborn, so this is a look at how Black Lives Matter speaks to this.
The term pro-life for me does not have an expiration date on the last word. If you approach this issue biblically, life has value from womb to tomb, and the implications of that should reverberate across your worldview, social outlook, and political opinions.
African American mothers and infants are dying, and systemic racism is to blame. If you value life, support Black Lives Matter. In the United States of America, “African American mothers are dying at three to four times the rate of non-Hispanic white mothers, and infants born to African American mothers are dying at twice the rate as infants born to non-Hispanic white mothers” (Novoa, Taylor 2018). In our country, today, these numbers are unacceptable, but it is not an issue of the differences of race; it is not as easy as, “Well, they do things differently,” as some have alleged. Our society is to blame, for as Cristina Novoa and Jamila Taylor note in their 2018 article, “the impacts of institutional racism and sexism compromise women’s health across time, leading to poorer outcomes for African American women and infants.” America, this is the mess we’ve made, and it is imperative we fix it now.
If all lives matter, and if you are focused on all unborn lives mattering, let this meet you where you are. There is a broken system we, as Americans, operate in, and that system is responsible for the deaths of Black children. However, there is hope; we can fix it.
The structures of our society are to blame, and importantly, the responsibility falls largely on, “A fractured and unequal health care system and gaps in health workforce training,” that, “further aggravate these racial disparities. It is racism, not race itself, that threatens the lives of African American women and infants” The African American community is dying because of systemic racism and because of “access to quality health care and nutritious food can have a substantial effect on her baby’s health” (Novoa, Taylor 2018). These are problems we can fix. There are officials working to take away healthcare and take away services from underserved communities. If you believe every unborn child and every mother has value, why would you not take this into consideration before voting for these individuals? If a human life is precious, a politician’s support for BLM is a requirement. This is not an issue of differences of political opinion; there are lives at stake. I believe human life has value, for the Bible I read says God loved the world. John 3:16 is perhaps the most well known verse of the Christian faith, but how many of us consider that word, world. That word means that “in Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither slave nor free; there is no male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). Why should one unborn life matter more? Why should the life of one mother be more significant?
There action to be taken, and there is work to be done. Will you join in this? If you are a Christian, it is necessary for you engage in this.
It is not only access that is to blame. Prejudice is directly responsible, for Imari Z. Smith, Keisha L. Bentley-Edwards, Salimah El-Amin and William Darity, Jr, in their report for Duke University’s Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity and Insight Center for Community Economic Development, note that,
“According to Linda Goler Blount, president and CEO of the Black Women’s Health, ‘It is very common for people to say ‘race plays a factor,’ and in fact it’s not race so much as racism and the experience of being a black woman or a person of color in this society.’ Perceived discrimination is generally linked to increased levels of inflammation and systolic and diastolic blood pressure, depressive systems,30 and allostatic load” Smith, Bentley-Edwards, El-Amin, & Darity 2018).
These symptoms impact health outcomes for mother and baby. Racism kills.
Obviously, this is bigger than one moment, more important than a solitary response, but it does require action. If you are to be consistent in your belief, you are required to be affected by this.
Recently, I have seen many Christians indicating their support for politicians solely on those elected officials’ pro-life stance. My challenge for my fellow Christians is simple. Do you believe in the value of life beyond color? Black Lives Matter is looking to challenge the systemic racism that kills so many Black mothers and babies every day.
If you are pro-life, this fight against racism is a good thing. If you believe in the value of each and every human being, your heart should want to dismantle structures of oppression. It is an easy thing to say, “I am pro-life.” It is a badge to wear and a box to check, but if wearing a badge is all that is important, you are not pro-life. You want convenience and simplicity rather than lasting change. You satisfy your convictions with words rather than action. It is a more challenging thing to look at the ways at which we can effectively change and grow our society to lead to the success of all life, regardless of color, regardless of religion.
Your brothers and sisters are dying, and there is work you can do to stop that. Won’t you take the side of life and work to save rather than destroy?
Vote for individuals who believe Black lives matter; fight for causes to help rid society of systemic racism. Be pro-life in the way that benefits all life. Be consistent. Be true. If God loves all his children, the deaths of Black women and children should break your heart. However, don’t let it stay broken for brokenness sake. Take your brokenness and work for change, for life.
References
Novoa, C., & Taylor, J. (2018, February 1). Exploring African Americans’ High Maternal and Infant Death Rates. Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/early-childhood/reports/2018/02/01/445576/exploring-african-americans-high-maternal-infant-death-rates/
Smith, I. Z., Bentley-Edwards, K. L., El-Amin, S., & Darity Jr., W. (2018, March). Fighting at Birth: Eradicating the Black-White Infant Mortality Gap. Retrieved October 30, 2020, from https://socialequity.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Eradicating-Black-Infant-Mortality-March-2018.pdf
