Our 2021 Theme is…

by Heather Weininger, Executive Director of Wisconsin Right to Life

UNIFY FOR LIFE.  

Our team started brainstorming our 2021 theme months ago, not at all realizing just how relevant it would be in this particular moment in time. Our society has been feeling the pull of discord for quite some time now – between the COVID-19 pandemic, civil unrest, and the 2020 elections, tensions feel like they are at an all-time high.  

The pro-life movement has not been immune from this tension. As easy as it is to put us in a box, pro-lifers are not a homogeneous group; we come from different backgrounds and social beliefs, and have wildly different ideas on religion, politics, and other social issues. In 2020, these differences threatened to pit pro-lifers against each other in new ways as we debated the merits of the COVID-19 shutdowns, Black Lives Matter protests, and election fraud allegations.  

So how do we, as the pro-life movement, come back together to unify around the cause of life?  

Keep the main thing the main thing. We can distill our pro-life beliefs into one simple statement: Abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia end the lives of innocent people, and are therefore morally wrong. We all agree on this, and it is necessary to remind ourselves of this truth when outside chaos overwhelms the narrative.  

Focus on the work of changing hearts and minds. It is easy to become discouraged with the prospect of pro-life advances being pushed back by the new Biden administration. But our work continues no matter who is in the White House (or governor’s mansion or Supreme Court). To despair over these setbacks is to miss out on our primary goal: reaching individual people with the truth of life in our own circles, so that they have the resources and strength of purpose to choose life.  

Remember that everyone has a seat at the table. The pro-life movement is a movement of love and acceptance. This extends further than our love for those we strive to serve; it extends to those in our own movement who do not fit the typical “pro-life” mold. Let us welcome new ideas and perspectives with open arms, acknowledging that we are all called to protect life from those who threaten to destroy it.  

This year, we plan to highlight different ways that we, as an organization and as a movement, are called to unite around the cause of life. By unifying around unborn babies, women in crisis pregnancies, students who are most vulnerable to the lies of the abortion industry, and those who are elderly or disabled, we can continue to change hearts and minds to favor life and push back the pro-abortion and pro-death forces. We hope you’ll follow along with us this year as we share stories, articles, and resources in an attempt to unite the pro-life movement in our state, and we hope that you’ll be encouraged to focus on how you can fuel your own circle to unify around the cause of life. 

Now more than ever, we need to UNIFY FOR LIFE.