87 Ways to Save a Life

With all the intense debate about Planned Parenthood selling the body parts of the babies they kill, there have been a lot of attacks on what it means to be pro-life. As a Board member on numerous pro-life organizations, I get to see a few categories of attack against pro-lifers.

The most common is that we hate women. This is ridiculous. My experience has been that abortion is bad for women in every conceivable scenario. I have met hundreds of women that have confided in me and revealed to trauma and pain of abortion long term.

Another is that we are only pro-birth, not pro-life, we only care about babies unborn. When they are born, we are accused of not giving any heed to their care or providing for their needs. This is categorically false. Many of the active pro-life people that I know have adopted children, participate in food pantry and feeding programs, provide for women and families in tangible goods and services through pregnancy care centers and churches all over the world. Many give generously from their own need to serve the needs of the poor.

Of course, there are the preposterous claims that pro-lifers are complicit in killing born children. In some convoluted illogic, that I cannot grasp, I have been called a baby killer. Somehow, by actively lobbying and educating the public and legislators, I am responsible for killing babies that have been born.

The other is that we don’t care about other issues. The precise reason for being pro-life is that we care. We care about many issues. We care about the economy, which has been devastated by a lack of people. We care about foreign policy. We care about healthcare, which may become the mechanism for less people in the further, by way of euthanasia. We care about community, technology, innovation, justice and more.

I have titled this blog, 87 Ways to Save a Life. This is a simple list. If you want to talk more about each one or how it relates to saving lives, or if I have done these things, just leave a comment. Let’s get the conversation going on what it means to be pro-life

1.  Help a woman in a crisis pregnancy situation get help to solve the crisis.
2. Make sure that there is a posted notice in your church, school or work with a helpline for crisis pregnancy.
3. Tell all the people in your circle of influence about the real plans of Planned Parenthood.
4. Discuss the dangers of abortion and the value of pregnancy.
5. Volunteer with a Right to Life organization.
6. Throw a baby shower for a low income family, an unwed mom or a teen.
7. Call Community Action and ask how you can help.
8. Google pregnancy care centers in your area and donate money or items.
9. Volunteer your time and energy at a pregnancy care center.
10. Learn CPR.
11. Get your church or school or workplace involved supporting a center.
12. Offer to give a talk or bring in a speaker to showcase resources.
13. Talk about resources with your circle of influence.
14. Get some brochures from resource centers, in case someone you know has an unplanned pregnancy.
15. Talk about the amazing way we develop from conception, all through out lives.
16. Approach a women’s ministry with your ideas to support pregnant women.
17. Help at a young mothers group, like Mothers of Preschoolers.
18. Babysit for a young family for free, letting them know they are valued.
19. Pay a babysitter for a neighbor or buy a gift card for a young family.
20. Pray for people in all kinds of crisis situations.
21. Get involved in a church that meets the needs of others and pitch in.
22. Join a group that has a feeding program here or abroad and give of your time, energy, talents and/or money.
23. Raise funds and awareness for impoverished school ministry.
24. Provide school supplies to families in your area.
25. Join a support group for families of children with disabilities.
26. Build a ramp or do simple repairs for family of wheelchair bound member.
27. Do yard work or household chores for an accident victim.
28. Provide meals for family suffering a sudden illness or injury or death.
29. Coach kids in academics or sports in school, establishing their value.
30. Smile at everyone you meet and be very respectful to everyone, without any regard for how they look or what state they are in.
31. Ask people what they need, if you cannot help, you can ask God to supply.
32. Tell people they are important.
33. Look for anything positive you can say to everyone in your circle of influence.
34. Reach out to people you haven’t seen for a while with concern.
35. Give a young teen a ride to work or school.
36. Help an older teen with yard work, chores or vehicle maintenance.
37. Give of your time, energy, talents and resources to a youth program.
38. Connect people of similar interests with each other to build community.
39. Keep your eyes open to distressed teens and ask them if they are ok, just letting them know someone cares.
40. Thank the young clerks, baggers and service workers in your community.
41. Teach a child or teen a useful skill.
42. Play games with children or teens in your circle of influence.
43. Talk about internet safety with parents and children.
44. Share safety tips and resources on social media.
45. Post encouraging memes and value statements for all ages on social media.
46. Volunteer at a school, especially a high school.
47. Help out at a homeschool group.
48. Organize a family fun day.
49. Participate in town fairs, community block parties and Old Home Days.
50. Organize a clothing drive or new shoe drive.
51. Support a shelter for homeless or abuse victims.
52. Provide educational resources for maternity homes, shelters and support groups.
53. Arrange for businesses to contribute goods to drug treatment clients.
54. Donate music, books, crafts and hobby materials to a mental health center.
55. Call for assistance for obviously, grossly intoxicated people anywhere.
56. Buy and distribute restaurant gift cards to homeless individuals or families.
57. Organize a blanket gift drive for a homeless community outreach program.
58. Donate your unused devices, like iPods, to homeless or sheltered individuals.
59. Adopt an elderly widow or a child with a well established organization.
60. Give your unused medical devices to churches or community groups as needed.
61. Organize a community yard sale in an area of need and bring in donations from wealthier neighborhoods.
62. Find odd jobs or small jobs to unemployed skilled workers in your area and connect the person to the need.
63. Connect unemployed skilled workers with youth for apprentice-type volunteer projects.
64. Set up visits with youth and elderly people for shared perspectives and exchange of ideas, such as honor and dignity and skills, such as tech use.
65. Find out who in charge of elderly outreach in your area and volunteer to help.
66. Talk about the needs of the elderly population within your circles of influence.
67. Post resources on community bulletin boards.
68. Carry groceries for those obviously having difficulty.
69. Look for ways to help people who need help on community boards online and in stores or laundromats, diners or cafe’s.
70. Provide tools to laborers.
71. Support human rights organizations.
72. Attend or start an altruism mastermind group.
73. Never defraud anyone.
74. Never behave in ways that convey a disrespect for the people you encounter.
75. Never buy sex.
76. Never use people solely for your personal gain.
77. Never use disparaging comments, putting someone else down to make yourself look better.
78. Never drive intoxicated.
79. Never use violence against people.
80. Expose evil as a warning to help others.
81. Expose the reality of abortion and euthanasia.
82. Always tell the Truth in love.
83. Always take the time you need to find the facts before sharing stories.
84. Always give people the benefit of the doubt, hoping for the best in people usually brings it out.
85. Always apologize when you are wrong.
86. Learn to do good things and do something good every day.
87.  Remind your friends and family that every life is a gift and is of inestimable value.

I could have gone on, but I decided when I started to stop at 87. What do you think of this list?