On January 29, former NFL soccer participant Benjamin Watson and his spouse Kirsten gave a brief discuss for the digital March for Life. They inspired viewers to be dwelling witnesses to the pro-life motion and to acknowledge that being pro-life just isn’t against true justice.
Though the digital nature of the March dissatisfied many expectant marchers, Benjamin and Kirsten reminded viewers that they’re “collectively in spirit” and that, nevertheless separated, marchers proceed to share a “resolve and dedication to guard the lives of preborn youngsters.”
The couple additionally inspired viewers to do not forget that being actually pro-life has at all times meant rather more than attending a march yearly. “Crucial work to construct a tradition of life doesn’t rely on us gathering,” he mentioned. “Quite the opposite, it begins in our properties, overflows to our locations of worship and employment and influences our native communities, which then impacts our nation.” In different phrases, constructing a extra simply society begins with particular person commitments to rising in advantage and caring for the group.
For the Watsons, being pro-life and combating for justice in American communities are inherently related. At a time when Individuals discuss a lot about reproductive justice, racial justice, social justice and prison justice, Watson believes that the justice that pro-lifers search supersedes all of them. In search of true justice requires an individual to first acknowledge the dignity and price of the human life deserving that justice.
In his Nationwide Evaluation article revealed on the identical day because the March, Watson defined:
What hyperlinks totally different justice points collectively is a shared dedication to equal dignity for all human life, from the womb to the tomb…. folks assume they’ll struggle in opposition to oppression and exploitation in our economic system or criminal-justice system with out additionally defending the lives of the unborn from the abortion trade. However they’ll’t. It’s a hole and lifeless type of justice that views some lives as expendable, forgettable, or unimportant.
The NFL participant first publicly revealed his pro-life outlook on justice after the Ferguson BLM riots in 2014 and his message stays significantly apt right now. After an unprecedented pandemic, months of BLM riots, an exhausting election cycle, and an assault on the nation’s Capitol, Individuals are divided, offended, and fearful. On the March For Life, Benjamin and Kirsten Watson provided a message of hope and unity as a result of being pro-life unites folks not as Christians, Individuals, Republicans or Democrats, however as human beings worthy of dignity and respect.