“Pro-life” and “pro-choice” are not mutually exclusive terms. Indeed, I claim to be both.

I am pro-life. I value all living things that the Creator has blessed us with. I embrace my responsibility as a human being to steward the Earth and its resources.

I am pro-choice. I believe that women should have the right to privately make decisions about their reproductive health with her doctor and her loved ones.

Right-wing Christians who call themselves “values voters” don’t have the lock on moral issues that they claim. My moral compass informs my politics and the way that I vote. I support candidates and policies that I believe will build a just society.

• I support family values, where every child is a wanted child, no person fears violence in their own home, and where any loving marriage between two consenting adults is honored and respected.
• I support environmental conservation and policies that make sustainable day-to-day living practices possible for more people.
• I support fairness and economic justice for everyone.
• I believe that healthcare is a right.
• I support public education.
• I support working for peace with justice, and working towards building a non-violent society whether it is combating gun-violence in urban neighborhoods or finding diplomatic solutions to international conflicts.
• I support the abolition of the death penalty.

As articulated by the Matthew 25 Network, I support “life with dignity, caring for the least of these, supporting families, stewardship of God’s creation, working for peace and justice at home and abroad, and promoting the common good.”

Perhaps I have a broader definition of what being “pro-life” means than how it is used in popular discourse. In the same way that I am reclaiming my religious faith, I want to reclaim what it means to be pro-life. I want all children to be born into a sustainable peaceful world where they have access to the food and healthcare they need, the education that they deserve, peaceful parks and clean air in their cities and towns, diverse communities where they can learn about and respect different cultures and traditions, and freedom to make decisions about their personal lives. I want all people to be able be who they are and to live without fear for doing so.

These are the Pro-Life values that I embrace.