It’s been over a year since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in a landmark decision. But that doesn’t mean things have gotten easier for the pro-life movement.
For longtime pro-life advocates like former NFL player Benjamin Watson, tackling the “New Fight for Life” is more than just the title of his new book — it’s the real-world challenge facing pro-lifers who are working to come alongside pregnant women in need while inspiring the next generation to create lasting social change.
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“As Roe was overturned, I thought, ‘Is the pro-life movement ready?’ Because we had put so much effort into overturning Roe… everything was geared toward that, which is vitally important. It needed to be overturned,” Mr. Watson recently told The Washington Times’ Higher Ground. “[But people] are still seeking abortions. The law didn’t change that.”
The former tight end and Super Bowl champion said that if you look past the most outspoken activists who choose to “shout their abortions,” there is a large demographic of women who would prefer to choose life for their preborn babies if they felt like their circumstances allowed. And that’s where the pro-life community is now needed most.
“There are a large group of women who really don’t want to get the abortion, but feel like it’s necessary because either their partner is not standing with them or there’s healthcare issues or childcare issues, or housing or employment,” said Mr. Watson, who now serves as Vice President of Strategic Relationships for Human Coalition. “I want the pro-life movement to be prepared to enter into some of these issues… in a way that might be different than before and cast a wider net than before so that we address some of these driving factors.”
Of course, that can be difficult when so many of the factors affecting these women today are seen purely through a political lens instead of a humanitarian perspective with historical implications. That’s a big part of why Mr. Watson wrote his new book, “The New Fight for Life: Roe, Race, and a Pro-Life Commitment to Justice.”
“I want people to walk away with a great understanding of how things got to be where they are on the issue of abortion,” Mr. Watson said about the book. “[Education] empowers you to speak from a place of understanding, to empathize with people, and also see where you can be most impactful and effective in creating change.”
“I want the pro-life movement to continue to love people,” he continued. “And I want them to demonstrate that in our actions because I believe when we do that, even those who are detractors and those who are on the other side… they will be more willing perhaps to join with us on some of these most important issues concerning life.”
That’s especially crucial for the next generation, who Mr. Watson said must play an important role if the pro-life movement is going to continue to succeed over the next 20 years.
“How are we speaking to our children about [all of these issues]? We need to be sharpening our arrows,” he said, referencing Psalms 127, “so that they can then live lives with the same convictions or with the convictions that are perhaps not as prevalent right now.”
“The next generation is always key for every single social change,” Mr. Watson added. “So anytime society changes a mentality … it’s always the next generation in order to get those things mainstream.”
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Marissa Mayer is a writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her work has been featured in Christian Post, The Daily Signal, and Intellectual Takeout. Mayer has a B.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing from Arizona State University.
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