Life Advocacy – National

LIFE ADVOCACY – BEGINNING OF LIFE, END OF LIFE, AND ALL LIFE IN BETWEEN

Lutheran Family Service is working to activate and equip individuals, pastors and congregations to engage in supporting our elected officials to uphold the value and sanctity of all human life. We believe that life begins at the moment of fertilization and ends at natural death. Life is valuable, purposeful and meaningful at all stages and ages.

“Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” (Proverbs 31:8-9)

Support the Life Advocacy work of Lutheran Family Service so that we may continue to equip others to Be a Voice for Life and stand up to defend the value of life through countless hours and efforts.

Value does not come not from what we are able to do or not do. It comes from what God has done. Human life has value because:

  • God creates every life. (Psalm 139:13-14)
  • God redeemed every life with His own blood. (Acts 20:28)
  • God desires to call every life into an eternal relationship with Him. (1 Timothy 2:4)

Through this positive and joyful God-breathed truth, God moves us to dispel the myths about life’s value such as:

  • Unborn life has less value than born life.
  • People with severe disabilities are less valuable than the able bodied.
  • People with diseases like Alzheimer’s or mental health issues like depression are less valuable than others and financially burdensome.
  • The elderly are less valuable than younger people.

This is a critical time in a “pro-death” culture to be the voice for those vulnerable to abortion and physician-assisted suicide. If we don’t stand up now to defend life, who will? Lutheran Family Service works with LCMS Pastors and Congregations to inform, educate and call-to-action through a Kingdom of the Left Sunday each year.

Jesus calls us to influence our culture. He tells us we are the light of His truth in this dark world (Matthew 5:14) and that we are to be like salt preserving this truth and defending it (Matthew 5:13). One of the ways we do this is in the public square is through our elected officials. Part of our Christian responsibility as citizens is to be a voice for God’s truth in the ears of those who represent us.

Right now, two specific issues call for our life-affirming voice.

Affirming and Protecting Life in the Womb

We affirm and defend life in the womb not just because it is the right thing to do or the moral thing to do. It is the God thing to do! Our heavenly Father crafted those lives with His hands (Psalm 139:13-14). Jesus died for those lives (Romans 6:10). The Holy Spirit desires to call those lives into an eternal relationship with Him in the waters of Holy Baptism (1 Timothy 2:4). God’s people in the pews need to hear this message over and over again. Defending God’s gift of life in the womb is much more than a political issue. It is a God’s truth issue. Lutheran Family Service stands ready to help equip congregations to understand this distinction and move them to be voices for the lives of the unborn. You can help educate and equip your congregation by holding a Kingdom of the Left Sunday in your church using materials that Lutheran Family Service has created for this purpose.

Once informed and motivated, Christ calls His people to engage our culture. We do that in two ways:

  1. We compassionately walk beside those in a crisis pregnancy situation and be Jesus to them. We offer them His love and provide practical help as needed. You can do this as well by partnering with, volunteering at, and financially supporting pro-life Crisis Pregnancy Centers in your community that help young women create life-affirming plans for their unborn child.
  2. We let our life-affirming voice be heard in the public square. Good laws and public policies can and do protect unborn life. You can work to promote and support such laws and policies. You can elect people who will do the same.

Affirming and Protecting Life of the Elderly and Infirm

Doctor Assisted Suicide is becoming legal in an increasing number of states. Even if you’ve not heard of it being debated, you can guarantee that pro-death groups are pushing for passage and legalization. Compassion and Choices, the pro-death group pushing for this, will not give up trying. Moved by our responsibility to be and share the Gospel, we too must be vigilant and proactive in a couple of ways.

  1. We help people by caring not killing! We compassionately walk beside the elderly and vulnerable in our congregations and communities. That means identifying who they are and creatively finding ways to affirm their value and meet their needs. Lutheran Family Service has experts in elder care and practical ideas for giving people hope and helping them live well until God calls them home.
  2. We let our voice on this issue be heard in the public square. Doctor assisted death is not the solution. Aside from promoting death as the answer to life’s problems, which creates an incredibly gruesome domino effect on the rate of suicides in general, it puts vulnerable subsets of the population in even more danger. Allowing “death by doctors” presents a convenient and cheap answer for “dealing” with those with disabilities, mental health illness, Alzheimer’s or other dementia, and the elderly. Lutheran Family Service can help you educate on the dangers of killing instead of caring.

Take Action and Be a Voice for LIFE

  1. Pray for life-affirming action in your legislature.
  2. Look for, attend, or organize a Prayer Rally for Life at your state’s capitol.
  3. Contact those who represent you by email, phone and/or in person, and let them know your views on abortion and physician assisted suicide.
  4. Use Lutheran Family Service resources to help educate your congregation on these issues.
  5. Support the Life Advocacy work of Lutheran Family Service so that we may continue to equip others and stand up to defend the value of life through countless hours, efforts and resources.