Why I Speak the Way I Do About Abortion

I want to respond to a common criticism I receive about my public abolition work and the way I go about it.

Not a few Christians are put off by my agitation and sometimes direct, confrontational style in public. I understand that — and I know there are moments when I could respond better. I reflect on those times, and I value genuine feedback when it is weighed in the light of the whole of Scripture.

That said, we must also keep our eyes on the urgency of the issue. Over 100 million babies have been slaughtered in the United States since Roe v. Wade. Connecticut alone kills thousands every year. And yet, most churches in our state are silent. This silence is not neutral — it allows abortion to continue unopposed.

In the 1800s, abolitionists like William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, and Elijah Lovejoy were accused of being too harsh, too uncompromising, too loud. Lovejoy was murdered for his stance against slavery. Garrison famously declared, “I will be as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice… I will not equivocate… and I will be heard.”

Biblically, the prophets were not known for gentle, crowd-pleasing words when confronting entrenched evil. Isaiah was told, “Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression” (Isaiah 58:1). John the Baptist publicly rebuked Herod for his sin — and lost his head for it. Jesus Himself overturned tables in the Temple in righteous anger.

Some have said my tone is too sharp or my presence too disruptive. But if, at a public event, toddlers were being slaughtered in front of us, wouldn’t urgent and even confrontational action be right and good? The fact that the victims of abortion are hidden does not make their murder any less real.

D.L. Moody once replied to a woman who didn’t like his evangelism methods, “I like the way I do it better than the way you don’t do it.” I feel the same way about public agitation for the abolition of abortion. I’m not asking everyone to do it like I do — but I am asking, what are you actually doing to end this evil? What is your church doing?

Francis Schaeffer once said, “Every abortion clinic should have a sign in front of it saying, ‘Open by permission of the church.’” I believe that’s still true today. The modern pro-life movement has, in many ways, settled for incremental regulations that manage abortion rather than abolish it. That’s why I am an abolitionist — because God calls us to establish justice, not regulate injustice.

I know my calling and my conscience are clear before God. I have brothers and sisters in Christ to whom I am accountable. My goal is to honor Christ as I lift my voice for those who have none (Proverbs 31:8–9).

You don’t have to agree with my methods, but please — don’t be silent. Silence in the face of great evil has never been the right response, whether in ancient Israel, Nazi Germany, or modern America.

Abortion must be abolished. And until it is, I will continue to be a voice for the voiceless — in the streets, at the Capitol, on college campuses, in front of high schools, and anywhere the Lord gives me an open door.