The Anti-Abortion March for Life is Growing

By Донор (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
By Донор (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
March for Life: Evangelicals join Catholics in the pro-life march.

Evangelical organizations increasingly consider anti-abortion activities as one of its top aims. The Focus on the Family, a large evangelical organization, has rallied its members to participate in March for Life, one of the largest anti-abortion events held every year in Washington. Although a majority of attendees previously were Catholic, the steady stream of evangelicals is increasing with every passing day.

The Anti-Abortion March for Life is Growing[/tweetthis]

The action of the 2016 event by Evangelicals for Life is part of the effort to make sure that the generation of younger Christian conservatives must toe the stated line. They were brought up in an environment where opposition to same-sex marriage, immigration and terrorism is the norm. Evangelical leaders are of the opinion that it is the perfect time to take action as a substantial boost against abortion was provided by a series of Planned Parenthood videos. The videos made by the anti-abortion lobby showed what its filmmakers termed “baby boy parts.” This new effort comes in the middle of a deeply divided conservative political season when “pro-life” concepts come under debate amidst a call to steer focus to abortion.

Russell Moore, a leader among the Southern Baptist community, and who also semi-bankrolled these new efforts, termed the reaction to such videos a sobering moment when it came to anti-abortion movements. He added that the videos demonstrated that a number of U.S. residents choosing to turn eyes away from the actual discussion. The pro-life movement, as per him, represented the nation's conscience.

Evangelicals have long been opposed to abortion. Only 33 percent are of the opinion that abortion should be legal, one of minimum rates when American faith groups are considered. This is much less than the 48 percent of the survey responded Catholics saying the same. The biggest faith affiliation in the U.S. are by evangelical Protestants – with 25 percent.

Many leaders, however, are afraid that the evangelical support for activism against anti-abortion could be shallow. It is noted that most of the stars in the anti-abortion actions are Catholic, like James O'Keefe, David Daleiden and Lila Rose. These people made a number of undercover videos which discredited the abortion providers.

Theological barriers are an important reason why evangelicals do not join Catholics. Other barriers are political and cultural.

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