By Carol Tobias, President
There is a wonderful old story about the difference one person can make. For those who may not be familiar with the story, let me share it.
Once upon a time, there was an old man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach every morning before he began his work. Early one morning, he was walking along the shore after a big storm had passed and found the vast beach littered with starfish as far as the eye could see, stretching in both directions.
Off in the distance, the old man noticed a small boy approaching. As the boy walked, he paused every so often and as he grew closer, the man could see that he was occasionally bending down to pick up an object and throw it into the sea. The boy came closer still and the man called out, “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”
The young boy paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean. The tide has washed them up onto the beach and they can’t return to the sea by themselves,” the youth replied. “When the sun gets high, they will die, unless I throw them back into the water.”
The old man replied, “But there must be tens of thousands of starfish on this beach. I’m afraid you won’t really be able to make much of a difference.”
The boy bent down, picked up yet another starfish and threw it as far as he could into the ocean. Then he turned, smiled and said, “It made a difference to that one!”
There are several variations of this story, attributed to Loren C. Eiseley. It is a powerful reminder that regardless of the magnitude of the challenges, each of us can contribute.
As I look at the immediate future of the pro-life movement, we need to ask more people, “Can you make a difference for at least one preborn child?” Or, “Can you do at least one thing to help several babies?”
The pro-life movement has many challenges in the coming months and every person who cares about protecting innocent human life is needed. These challenges include, but certainly are not limited, to:
- A White House administration that is looking for every possible way to make abortion easily accessible, including efforts to undermine pro-life laws enacted by the states to assist mother and child.
- A Food and Drug Administration making it easier for women to obtain pills for a chemical abortion. (Absurdly, pro-abortion California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) is even bullying drug store chains for not pledging to violate state laws which prevent distribution of abortion pills.)
- Judges who are preventing pro-life laws from taking effect.
- Ballot measures in states which, if successful, will enshrine unlimited abortion for any reason throughout pregnancy in state constitutions.
- Lies being spread by abortion advocates, happily carried by media outlets, that women experiencing difficulties with a pregnancy can’t be treated.
To face these many challenges, we need all pro-lifers to contribute. For example you may be a parent or grandparent who says, “I’m taking care of kids. I don’t have time.” Or maybe you have a lot of responsibilities with your job and you think, “I’m just too busy.” Or you are already a much-valued, over-extended, volunteer in your church or other groups, and you tell yourself you don’t have time for another activity.
In other words, I am asking everyone to throw a few starfish back into the ocean, or in this context, to protect preborn children and their mothers. The opportunities to get involved and to make a difference are as varied as the many interests of our readers. Maybe you are interested in:
- Passing protective legislation to protect preborn children and their mothers.
- Electing pro-life candidates.
- Educating the public about the humanity of the unborn child.
- Educating women about the dangers posed by chemical abortions.
- Helping women who are dealing with heartache following an abortion.
- Supporting pregnancy centers who are providing aid to pregnant women.
- Influencing others through personal contacts or social media.
- Raising funds to support all of these activities.
- And if you believe in the power of prayer, pray for all pro-lifers who are making a difference.
This isn’t an exhaustive list, but hopefully, it gives you some ideas about where your talents can be helpful. We need to make abortion unthinkable so that, even in states where abortion remains legal, no woman will want one.