Why the Pro-Life movement has thus far failed ...

Each year, on the 22nd of January, I see tiny crosses on lawns and fields. The crosses are placed there by pro-life advocates to mark the anniversary of the controversial Roe v. Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that ushered in legalized abortion in the United States.

Those crosses are not the reason pro-life advocacy has thus far failed to achieve goals, but it indicates one of the significant reasons why the movement has failed.

The pro-life movement is viewed as a Christian movement. And the absence of any religious symbol other than a cross on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade confirms that perceptions are accurate.

I know Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Wiccans, Pagans and even atheists and agnostics who are pro-life to varying degrees but who have not joined with the Christians because they view pro-life as a movement to integrate Christianity more closely with government policy, to the perceived detriment of non-Christians.

Pro-life advocates have not sought consensus from the general populace. Moreover, fundamentalist Christians have taken the reins of the movement, preaching the only method of birth control acceptable to the movement is abstinence. And, the movement seeks only an end to abortion and appears to turn a blind social eye toward finding a solution to the causes that lead to the abortion decision, chief among them financial and societal, familial and nonsecular ostracism.

When the leaders of the Christian faith realize that life is more important than religion and seek to join with leaders of the other faiths and beliefs, when the leaders of the Christian faith acknowledge that abortion is an issue of humanity, the pro-life movement will begin to find acceptance and success among a greater majority of the populace and, eventually, the judiciary.