This is a clip from an episode of Life Report called “Shawn Carney on the State of the Pro-Life Movement.” In this clip I asked 40 Days for Life co-founder Shawn Carney what he thought the pro-life movement’s greatest victory has been so far.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAIk-L9Bryg&start=1013]
Click the embedded video and it will start at the right place in the interview. This particular topic ends at 19:12.
If you don’t want to watch the 3-minute video, you can read the full transcript below.
Transcript:
Josh: Let me ask you a few questions that I’ve asked a lot of other pro-life leaders on this show. What has been the pro-life movement’s greatest victory or victories so far?
Shawn: Persistence. And it’s easy to say that after 40 years of legalized abortion. But the fact that the March for Life is still the largest gathering in Washington D.C. year in and year out after 40 years says that fundamentally this is a religious movement.
And it has to be a religious movement because we can’t face this on our own. It’s too overwhelming. And when it’s based on our faith in God it means it’s something that’s never going away. There are few things as clearly religious in our country than the pro-life movement. It is one built of people of faith. And that’s our biggest asset.
The other side doesn’t have that. Planned Parenthood doesn’t have prayer rallies, and if they do, it’s usually to mock a group like 40 Days for Life like they did in Eureka, California.
But that’s a crucial point and it’s the most important point – that this is a religious movement and that it is one made up of sinners. We are not a bunch of self-righteous Christians telling the world how to live. This movement is made up of people who have done abortions; who have had abortions; who have paid for abortions; who have encouraged friends and family to have abortions; who have supported abortion legislation.
This is a movement full of people who have been on the other side. There is a huge river that goes from the pro-choice side to the pro-life side. Most of the people I know in the movement that are working, at one point or another were pro-choice or even post-abortive; or in Abby Johnson’s case ran an abortion facility. That’s a movement of converts.
There’s nobody that grows up and is 50 years old and has seven kids who are now grown and married and says that, “My whole life I’ve been wrong. I haven’t supported abortion and I need to start doing that.” Those people don’t exist.
A lot of the baby boomers who were pro-choice and went through all of the craziness in the 70’s are now the most powerful voices for the unborn. And that’s a sign of truth – that ultimately, no matter how far we go off track as a nation, truth will always prevail. And thank God there’s a movement here to welcome these people.
Download Full Interview (MP3) | 00:28:00
Life Report trains pro-life people to communicate their views more effectively. Through round-table discussions and interviews with the top experts on the subject, Life Report provides real-world answers to the toughest questions regarding abortion in the 21st century. Follow them on Facebook or Twitter.
Special thanks to Nate Amundson for the transcription. Thanks to Andrea Gleiter for helping to edit this post.
