I am pro-life.

It's taken me some time to get to this point, to where I feel like I have to speak up, like I need to make my position clear. It's been far too easy for me to stay quiet, keep my mouth shut, and do all I could to avoid not only contention, but even discussion concerning this matter.

I don't feel like I have that luxury anymore. I don't have the luxury of being a coward, of being someone who's so scared of confrontation that I won't even express one of my deepest-held beliefs. Not when I feel like the rights of millions of vulnerable people are at stake, not when I could perhaps do something about it.

I am pro-life. And therefore, I am anti-abortion.

It's been difficult for me to say this in a public forum because I was afraid of what people will think of me. I was afraid I'd be branded a religious nut, an extremist, a sexist. I was afraid that people would think less of me, think that I hate women, that I'm a bigot. I was afraid that people who are pro-choice would think I hated them or thought less of them for their beliefs, actions, and political positions on abortion.

In short, I was afraid of what others would think. Frankly, I still am. Yet, all that I've written about so far has been me. About my fears. My relationships. My cowardice. In sum, my refusal to step forward and say something was wholly and utterly selfish.

This is not about me; this is about the millions of unborn children that die every single year as a direct result of abortion. I don't know the current death count; the precise number isn't relevant. What is relevant is that these are children. These are small, incredibly vulnerable human beings who have the same right to life that each of us enjoy and hold inviolable. Each and every abortion ends a human life and irrevocably violates each of these children's right to life. Once an abortion is completed, it can't be taken back. That life is gone forever.

Many do not view it this way; to them, these children aren't actually children. They aren't human. They're just "fetuses"; they're bundles of cells that deserve no consideration as to their rights, because they have none. They are, at most, "potential" humans, who will gain human rights once they've exited their mothers' bodies. This concept of a non-human fetus is contrasted with the rights of women to bodily autonomy, a right that most pro-choice people hold as absolutely essential to equality. One person I've personally spoken with told me that they believed fetuses were human, but that the mothers' rights outweighed the children's right to life. I do not believe this to be a widely-held view, but it does exist to some extent.

I don't believe this difference in worldviews can truly be reconciled. To me and others with these beliefs, it is self-evident that unborn children are human with the right to life. To many others, it is just as self-evident that unborn children are not human and have no such right. How can such diametrically opposed viewpoints be reconciled? It can't in this generation; perhaps the message we teach to the next generation about what it means to be human and what it means to be equal is the only way to ultimately find a consensus, albeit not in our lifetimes.

I recognize that this is a difference in worldviews, and I respect it. I respect every person's right to act according to their conscience, even when I disagree on a deeply fundamental level. I respect their right to lobby for and elect politicians that will further their views, just as I hope they will respect mine.

Some pro-choice people who hear a view that children have the right to life respond that if pro-life people really respect unborn children's rights so much, they'll support social programs for needy expectant mothers. This is another discussion entirely that I don't have room for here, but I recognize that it's a valid question that does deserve in-depth discussion.

Ultimately, I am pro-life. In my view, the unborn child's right to life outweighs the mother's right to bodily autonomy. I am opposed to abortion in at least the vast majority of cases. I will not shame those who believe otherwise. I will not hold tasteless and shocking signs, post hateful things on the internet, or picket outside abortion providers. I will not demand that expectant mothers allow me to adopt their unborn child. Most of all, I do not and will not think less of women that choose to abort their unborn children; the vast majority of women in that position probably felt they needed to do so and that they weren't harming a human. I find it unbelievable that anyone would deliberately do something they believed was wrong.

I will, however, consider the views of politicians on abortion before voting for them. I will lobby for and support laws that protect the right to life of unborn children, and I will oppose laws that infringe on that right. I will support views of the constitution that find a right to life for unborn children, and I will oppose views that find otherwise. I will, as necessary, support social programs to support expectant and newborn mothers, in addition to policies that facilitate and support adoption for those who choose to place their unborn children.

I suppose that, in a way, this is about me. I will fight for the right of unborn children to live.