We, the vast majority of pro-lifers, are not truly living what we claim to believe about the equal value of born and pre-born children.

First, I will give you proof that most of us are guilty as charged.

Second, I will show you how seeing this truth offers us an essential insight for ending legalized pre-born child killing as soon as possible which is a major step toward making it an unthinkable option.

We are Not Living Our Belief in the Equality of Born and Pre-Born Humans

What if we were born into a society where killing toddlers was legal?

What if roughly 3,000 toddlers were being killed every day in the U.S.?

Would our response to such a reality be greater than our current response to the legalized killing of pre-born children we call abortion? Seriously think about it for 10 seconds, would your response to legalized toddler killing be greater?

If so, it exposes something about what you really believe.

If we would do more to protect the fundamental right to life for toddlers than what we are doing now to protect that same right for pre-born children, it must logically mean that, regardless of what we think we believe, we act from a false belief that ascribes greater value to toddlers than to pre-born children.

At the same time, we claim as pro-lifers that we believe pre-born humans are of equal value to born humans. And while we are most certainly right to make this claim, because it is verifiably true, we must admit that the vast majority of us are not authentically living this truth.

Proving the Equality of Born and Pre-Born Humans

How many pro-lifers know how to prove that born and pre-born humans are of equal value?

It seems to me 50% would be a very generous estimation. It may truly be far less. I don’t know, but I wonder what would happen if it were more like 90-95%.

Knowing how to explain the true equality of born and pre-born humans not only equips us to speak with others, but even more importantly, it deeply convinces and convicts us of the truth of this claim.

It makes sense that only when we have a deep conviction that something is true, will we consistently act in accordance with that belief.

The vast majority of pro-lifers must become equipped with the simple logic for how to prove the equality of born and pre-born humans and generously share this proof with others.

Born and pre-born humans do have real differences, yet these differences do not change the equal value of these two groups of humans.

Here’s why…

There are four differences between born and pre-born humans. We can remember these differences with the simple acronym SLED (this simple acronym has been around since 1990 and yet most pro-lifers have either never heard of it or have never committed it to memory).

Size – Born humans are generally larger than pre-born humans.

Level of Development – Born humans are generally more developed than pre-born humans.

Environment – Born humans live in a different environment than pre-born humans.

Degree of Dependency – Born humans are generally less dependent than pre-born humans.

None of these differences make born humans more valuable than pre-born humans. This fact is easy to see when we understand that these four differences also occur between some born humans.

Size – Some born humans are larger than other born humans. Is someone six feet tall more valuable than someone who is five feet tall? Of course not.

Level of Development – Some born humans are more developed than other born humans. Are teenagers more valuable than infants because they are more developed? Nope.

Environment – Some born humans live in a different environment than other born humans. Does where someone lives diminish his or her value as a human being? Never.

Degree of Dependency – Some born humans are more dependent than other born humans. Infants are generally far more dependent than adults, does that mean infants have less human value than adults? No. In fact, not only is the human value of infants and adults equal, but most people generally agree that those who are weakest, most vulnerable, and most dependent, have an even greater right to our protection than those who are stronger, less vulnerable, and less dependent.

As Stephanie Gray points out in her book Love Unleashes Life, all four of these differences ultimately boil down to age:

“the pre-born (or toddlers) are smaller than teenagers because in our species, at that age, that’s what size we should be. The pre-born are less developed intellectually and physically because in our species, at the age, that’s the developmental level we have. The pre-born are in their mothers’ bodies because in our species, at that age, that’s the environment we need. If we were elephants, we’d need our mothers’ bodies for almost two years (I bet every woman reading this is feeling grateful she’s not an elephant!). Finally, the pre-born are more dependent because, in our species, at that age we require that kind of constant protection and nourishment.”

We, as pro-lifers, are correct in claiming that born and pre-born humans are of equal value. We must be real and admit that most of us would do more, probably far more, to protect the fundamental right to life for toddlers than what we are doing right now to protect that same right for pre-born children. Isn’t it time we live what we claim to believe?

What to do from here?

1. Be aware that, while we as pro-lifers claim to believe the equal value of born and pre-born children, we must admit that the vast majority of us are not authentically living this truth.
2. Understand the simple truth of this belief by memorizing the four differences of born and pre-born children (SLED), why these differences do not affect human value, and seek to generously share this truth.
3. Own the fact that your responsibility to stand up for the fundamental human right to life for pre-born children is equal to your responsibility to stand up for the same right for toddlers in a society of legalized toddler killing.

Perhaps you have never seen things from this perspective before.

Well, now you do. Let’s begin.