What does it mean to be truly pro-life?

Being anti-abortion does not go far enough.

Claiborne, a Christian activist, provides an in-depth examination of all the elements of a “consistent ethic of life.” Throughout the book, he asks the question, “What does love require of us?”

Every person is sacred, Claiborne says, because God created humanity in His image. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27 NIV).” That means everyone. Brown and black and yellow and white. Mother Teresa and Adolf Hitler. Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Brain surgeons and sanitation workers and female impersonators. All are stamped with God’s likeness. Even people we don’t particularly like.

Claiborne includes chapters on the early Christian movement and how it changed when Constantine granted it legitimacy; how Christians have contributed to violence worldwide throughout history; anti-Semitism and genocide; eugenics, racism, slavery, and the death penalty; American exceptionalism; and a chapter on abortion that is one of the clearest analyses I’ve ever read.

For Claiborne, the ultimate authority on life and love is Jesus Christ. He quotes a pastor friend: “We believe in the authoritative, inerrant, infallible Word of God. His name is Jesus.” Claiborne says, “Ultimately, the word Christian means ‘Christlike.’ If something doesn’t smell like Jesus, sound like Jesus, and love like Jesus, it is not Christianity.” A lot of what I hear from people who profess to be Christians does not pass this test.

Pro-life goes beyond opposing abortion. Claiborne quotes a sermon given by the Reverend Doctor Otis Moss III: “I’m pro-life. I’m pro-education. I’m pro-healthcare. Pro-accountability. . . Pro-love. Pro-faith. Pro-equality. Pro-grace. Pro-redemption. Pro-peace. Pro-family, whatever combination that family may be.”

Being pro-life means making sure all people have access to what is necessary for life. Pro-life means insisting on a living wage, free public education, affordable housing, affordable childcare, affordable medical care and prescriptions, food, water and clothing for all. And the list goes on. There is much work to be done. What does love require of us?

Claiborne asks other questions too, and calls us to action. We all can help to bring justice and life to the world:

Jesus taught us to seek first the kingdom of God, and that means asking ourselves some prophetic questions. What would it look like for God’s dream to come on earth as it is in heaven? What would it look like for God’s dream to come to my block, my neighborhood, my city? . . . God’s dream is for us to welcome immigrants as if they are our own flesh and blood (Lev. 19:34). God’s dream is for mercy to triumph over judgment. God’s dream is for us to transform our swords into plows and our guns into garden tools. God’s dream is not for more than one hundred lives to be lost to guns every day in America. . . How can we participate in announcing and ushering in God’s dream? . . . Let us pray that our hearts would be broken by the things that break the heart of God.

Rethinking Life is one of the best books I’ve read this year. I can’t stop thinking about it.