Last week, Students for Life of America, announced our theme for the 2010-2011 school year, Social Justice. Within moments of pressing the “send” button, responses began pouring into my inbox.
The reaction is what we expected, 
students loved the theme and adults, well…they were less enthusiastic about it. Some parents who rightly monitor their teenagers’ e-mail inboxes received the message. Without reading the content of my letter, the parents saw the title, and angrily wrote a response telling me how terrible “Social Justice” is, and how dare I e-mail their child to recruit them into this socialist work.
I expected this reaction from other generations, because they grew up in a different time than myself and those students I serve in Generation Y.
The responses we heard from students all expressed relief that someone within the pro-life movement was finally talking about Social Justice. They were eager to learn new talking points to help them combat the pro-abortion, progressive message they hear in school and on their campuses daily.
This morning, I am preparing to send another message to our Students for Life e-mail and Facebook lists. The title will be “Vote for Real Social Justice.”
You see, what I explained last week to our readers is that, real Social Justice isn’t about applying one-sized-fits-all solutions to everyone to make ourselves feel better. Real Social Justice is building relationships with individuals and helping to repair the broken relationships in their life, which has lead them to a material need.
Real Social Justice is about caring for all human beings and seeking to build relationships with our brothers and sisters.
Today, I will tell our supporters that when they vote tomorrow to make sure it is a vote for real Social Justice and not the kind that politicians invoke. These opportunists use the word “Social Justice” because it sounds good and because it makes voters feel better about themselves when they vote for them. The politician then uses this term to go to the state capitol or Washington, D.C. and pass legislation that simply applies short-term fixes to the real, long-term problems people have.
Now, I’m not saying, cut food stamps or other material help that Americans need.
What I am saying is that we must work to repair the broken relationships in addition to meeting material needs of the person. This works best when left to communities and those within them like churches, pro-life pregnancy resource centers, etc. Make no mistake about it, repairing a person’s broken relationships is hard work, but it will help that person go on to lead a happy and productive life.
Now, you are probably asking yourself, “Kristan, what does this have to do with abortion?”
My response, “Everything.”
As those of us in the pro-life movement know, abortion is the “treatment” of a “problem.” Women in crisis pregnancies often see abortion as the only solution. When I and others counsel women outside of abortion facilities or at a pregnancy resource centers, the responses we receive are usually the same. The young woman doesn’t want to choose abortion but feels there is no better solution.
Applying real Social Justice means that those of us in the pro-life movement who reach out to these scared, pregnant women meet their material and emotional needs first. We need to fulfill our promise of providing her with everything she needs during her pregnancy and beyond, and, in the process, build a long-lasting relationship with her. This way, she doesn’t find herself in the same situation a year from now.
This is real Social Justice. This is justice for both the woman and her preborn baby.
What the other side offers to women is abortion. They see abortion as a woman’s “Social Justice,” yet neglect to focus on preventing her from facing the same situation in the future —trust, me handing her condoms or birth control pills isn’t helpful. Abortion just leads her to a life-long battle with the guilt of what she has done.
Why would they do this, you ask? Because, then she would have no reason to return, buy another abortion, and make the abortion industry $350 richer.
Don’t believe me? Just ask former abortion workers like Carol Everett or Abby Johnson about what they witnessed and how much the abortion business is all about the business.
With over 3,700 abortions occurring each day, abortion is truly our nation’s most pressing and fundamental issue.
So, tomorrow, all pro-lifers need to vote for those who promise real Social Justice, starting in the womb. Only those candidates who promise to end abortion are the ones worthy of my vote.
