After 5 years of Pro-Life/Whole-Life advocacy on Twitter, I’ve called it ‘a day.’
The decision to stop posting there came after seeing how Twitter had the gall to censor a 2017 post quoting St. Teresa of Calcutta — Mother Teresa! (The post in question is below.)
A reply from D.W Lafferty PhD suggested that I should: “…keep in mind that is for a promoted tweet, which is a paid advertisement. These are two different things: censoring accounts, and censoring paid advertisements from accounts.” Maybe Twitter has a legal right to do so, but these (anti-)social media platforms present themselves as the bastions of Free Speech so they should receive universal condemnation when they censor such benign opinion.
The thread in question started with a post on how Twitter had banned a very graphic photo of the remains from an abortion but labelled it as being “a mutilated human.” (The point being that Twitter acknowledged the small person was indeed human.)
The responses I received from D.W. Lafferty seemed to explain away much of the censorship against Pro-Life/Whole-Lifers. I found that puzzling coming from a prolific (pun not intended!) Catholic author. (I suspect he thinks Pro-Life is populated mostly by the “ultraconservatives”, “traditionalists” and others bad actors he sees are damaging the Church.) So, in this article I present my views of the Pro-Life/Whole-Life Movement.
What does it mean to be ‘Pro-Life’ and ‘Whole-Life’?
Simply, Pro-Life/Whole-Life people believe in the Right to Life.
Some people focus on the Right to Life of the unborn child (perhaps the traditional concept of ‘Pro-Life’) but I suspect the majority are also ‘Whole-Life’ — a belief in the Right to Life from conception to natural death.
Pro-lifers can hold a whole variety of religious views while some are atheists! No specific politicalaffiliation is required. There are people in Fine Gael; Fianna Fáil; Liberal; Conservative; Democrat; Republican…and everything in between. (Sadly, many liberal parties have made it difficult for their members to hold Pro-Life views — which is curiously illiberal!)
What is the Pro-Life/Whole-Life MOVEMENT?
The “movement” occurs when a Pro-Life/Whole-Life person communicates or acts on their belief in some way. That is as simple as talking to a pro-choice person over coffee (or on Twitter!) donating to an agency caring for single moms or by participating in a demonstration, etc.
The Movement does not require anything other than a belief in the Right to Life. There is no enrolment; no membership application; no membership fee; no membership card and no defined commitment! (Of course, some organizations have these things.)
The only Philosophy we have is a belief in the Right to Life.
The Movement cannot be defined in terms of a specific “School of Thought.”
The AIM of the Pro-Life/Whole-Life Movement
The aim is to see a general acceptance that all human beings have the Right to Life — from conception to natural death.
Abortion is the single leading cause of death in the world so the Pro-Life/Whole-Life Movement has a moral strength greater than all previous human rights movements — even the 1960’s civil rights movement. Add infanticide, euthanasia, capital punishment, destruction of abandoned embryos, etc. and the Right to Life is the most important human rights issue since the signing of the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights just after World War II.
(I believe the most important individual group we have to persuade is the Supreme Court in our respective countries.)
WHO is in the ‘Pro-Life/Whole-Life Movement’?
‘Pro-Life’ is a very diverse group of wonderful people whose focus is the protection of human life! Welcome from all walks of life, religions, creeds and cultures. (And yes, there is likely to be the odd Ultraconservative and Traditionalist!)
Below I note a small selection of the people I follow on Twitter to give readers an impression of the variety of pro-life/whole life people around the world. They are presented in no particular order and it is a pity that space limits mentioning more of these great people.
Gianna Jessen (giannajessen-1776 again @giannajessen) has cerebral palsy from a ‘failed’ abortion. Against all odds she survived and thrives as a pro-life advocate!
Albany Rose (@Albany_Rose) describes herself as a ‘Metal Mom’ and ‘Pro-Life Atheist,’ showing that you do not need any religious affiliation to be Pro-Life! She organizes practical support for pregnant women in need.
Robin (@TruthAgape) is a licensed mental health counsellor specializing in reproductive mental health. She has taken full responsibility for her own abortion and helps women in distress. She is always ready to have a respectful dialectic with any pro-abortion person.
March for Life (@March_for_Life) is the official account of the American March for Life which organizes the annual Pro-Life march in Washington DC.
After the 2019 March for Life, the world saw the underage Covington boys being vilified by the media after a confrontation at the Lincoln Memorial. (It is likely that Nick Sandmann was specifically targeted because he was wearing a MAGA hat.)
Maajid Nawaz (@MaajidNawaz) is a British radio commentator and an outstanding whole-life advocate who vociferously opposes the genocide of the Uighur people in China.
Wesley J Smith (@forcedexit) is the chair in senior fellow at Discovery Institute’s Centre on Human Exceptionalism who writes regularly against Euthanasia.
The GOALS of the Pro-Life/Whole-Life Movement
In simple terms this is the world-wide acceptance that every human being has the Right to Life and the provision of adequate resources so that people do not consider death as a practical option.
One important group goal is that we must stick together! I may not agree with Pro-Lifers on the weather, their politics or their sports team…but we do agree on the Right to Life! Solidarity is fundamental to our long-term success.
Individuals may have a personal goal. When writing this article, I realized that my recent advocacy has been through a computer by posting on Twitter & writing articles. I miss doing more in person so my new goal is to join a March for Life, to walk in solidarity with my Pro-Life/Whole-Life brothers and sisters!
That might come true in 2022 when COVID19 restrictions are finally lifted — join me there!
Dr. Kevin Hay.
Kevin is a UCD grad and a rural Family Doctor in Alberta, Canada.
You can follow him on Twitter @kevinhay77. (he is currently on hiatus)
Read some of Kevin’s other articles on prolife issues below.
