Protest

A few more signs: #PPProtest #DefundPlannedParenthood pic.twitter.com/vA1FcpqmG2

— Daniel Foucachon (@foucachon) October 10, 2015

I’m near the beginning of the clip. My boys, Jude (age 4) and Liam (age 3), stood with me and hundreds of other pro-life supporters and their children. The support we received was heartfelt and infrequent. More often, our signs, smiles, songs and waves were met with cursing and middle fingers. As Jude helped hold our sign (“Choose Love, Choose Life”) I encouraged him to wave and smile with extra joy when the particularly hostile pro-choicers expressed their choice inappropriately. Jude was dubious but snuggled in close to me when it made him uncomfortable. I practice what I preach. As Dr. Seuss put it, “A person’s a person no matter how small.” Every person has a right to life and a right to love. Afterward, we went out for celebratory ice cream.

#StandwithPP supporter said I shouldn’t have my kids out here today. My response: I don’t take parenting advice from people who kill babies

— The Chocolate Knox (@Chocolate_Knox) October 10, 2015

Now, I know for a fact that not all Planned Parenthood supporters are as rude as many of the people we saw today. Heck, I know my fair share of Pro-lifers who would do well to shut up and learn some manners. But the truth is that those who do not value human life to the point of seeing babies as expendable — if their reasoning is followed through to the logical conclusion (and it often isn’t because it would take a cold heart to do so) — it means that they won’t value human life outside the womb, either.Why not flip off the mom holding her toddler who is singing Amazing Grace on the street corner? Why not just run her over? What is stopping them? We are only human and we all once inhabitated a womb. Does a timeline really make that much difference? It was then that I realized, even Planned Parenthood supporters are pro-life deep in their hearts. They do value human life — otherwise they wouldn’t have a problem killing those of us outside the womb. There is a huge flaw in the logic of those standing with Planned Parenthood. So many of their supporters can’t bring themselves to even watch the videos the Center for Medical Progress produced. They make flimsy excuses or just shrug them off — but they won’t watch them. I have a difficult time believing that they want to know the truth. It is so much easier to support something you don’t really know anything about, isn’t it?

At the end of the day, even with all my crazy mental health challenges, my heart is peaceful.

God enabled me to do the right thing today. I taught my children (in a relatively  mild environment) what it really looks like to stand up for what is right even when it makes you incredibly uncool to do so. I, and hundreds of other men and women exemplified the heart of Christianity: Jesus took our weakness upon himself 2000 years ago so that we could live.  As I stood out there today, I understood that my sons and I were mirroring a micro-image of what Jesus did for us. We sacrificed our safety, our comfort zones, our time and energy — and to some degree, my children’s innocence to lend our strength to the weakest. My sons and I were flipped off, scowled out, fingers were wagged and unpleasantries yelled — but if it saved one baby, it was worth it.

Tonight, my children are snuggled up and sleeping peacefully. My children are alive today because I paid forward the gift of life my mother gave me back in 1983. There is nothing noble in I’ve done by being pro-life. When I chose to allow my children to live, I chose to love them by giving them what rightfully belonged to them already: life. This isn’t complicated. If you value your fellow humans, if you love them, you treat them with respect, you consider your neighbors as more important than yourself and you certainly let them live.