American Life League has stressed many times that one of the secrets to winning the battle for the culture of life is using correct language. Mother’s Day gives you the opportunity to change one language error used by people on all sides of the battle.
Though pro-life people understand and teach that a new child’s life begins at creation, our language doesn’t always reflect that. How often do you go to a pro-life meeting and someone says, “I became a grandmother today!” Everyone offers profuse congratulations. The new grandmother explains, sometimes with pictures on her smart phone, that her grandson was born that morning. No one dares tell her the obvious: “You became a grandmother nine months ago. Today, your grandson was born.”
This weekend, help others recognize the humanity of the preborn child. Whenever you see a pregnant woman, take a moment and wish her a Happy Mother’s Day. Remind her that she is already the mother of the child in her womb.
If your church asks mothers to stand at services and be recognized, make sure your pastor specifically invites pregnant women to stand, and tell him to comment: “You are already mothers.”
If you go into a store with greeting cards and see cards that say “mother-to-be,” buy them all and then throw them away. Any woman is potentially a “mother-to-be,” but if the woman is pregnant, she is already a mother.
All of this may sound trivial, but it is not. In fact, it is extremely important, for it is the way we will start changing the culture. Happy Mother’s Day to all women who have born or preborn children.
Please remember that, if a woman you know had a miscarriage, she is and will always be a mother. Help her celebrate her child in heaven.