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The New Fight for Life: Roe, Race, and a Pro-Life Commitment to Justice
The battle over the constitutionality of Roe v. Wade may be over, but now a bigger fight lies ahead.
For over half a century, pro-life advocates have fought to protect the sanctity of human life. Now that the decision the pro-life community has been waiting and praying for has finally become a reality, a question Now what? How do we continue to stand for life for everyone who bears the image of God—from womb to tomb? And if abortion disproportionately impacts the poor and the marginalized, specifically Black Americans, why should we seize this new opportunity to make right what has gone terribly wrong?
Benjamin Watson, author of Under Our Skin and a former NFL player who now serves as VP of strategic relationships with Human Coalition, a pro-life organization based in Dallas, wants to galvanize the church and the pro-life movement in this new era. In The New Fight for Life, Watson
leads us into a new understanding of pro-life advocacy,shows how we can move past political debate and culture wars, andenvisions a new path forward that promotes life by committing to human flourishing and holistic justice.
We can create a culture where abortion is both unthinkable and unnecessary. How? By relentlessly pursuing a more just world—for everyone.
For over half a century, pro-life advocates have fought to protect the sanctity of human life. Now that the decision the pro-life community has been waiting and praying for has finally become a reality, a question Now what? How do we continue to stand for life for everyone who bears the image of God—from womb to tomb? And if abortion disproportionately impacts the poor and the marginalized, specifically Black Americans, why should we seize this new opportunity to make right what has gone terribly wrong?
Benjamin Watson, author of Under Our Skin and a former NFL player who now serves as VP of strategic relationships with Human Coalition, a pro-life organization based in Dallas, wants to galvanize the church and the pro-life movement in this new era. In The New Fight for Life, Watson
leads us into a new understanding of pro-life advocacy,shows how we can move past political debate and culture wars, andenvisions a new path forward that promotes life by committing to human flourishing and holistic justice.
We can create a culture where abortion is both unthinkable and unnecessary. How? By relentlessly pursuing a more just world—for everyone.
232 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 20, 2023
14 people are currently reading
743 people want to read
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January 25, 2026
3.5 stars
This is an interesting look at the pro-life movement from a social justice perspective, specifically how abortion has affected the Black community in the United States. Most abortions are of black children, so it disproportionately impacts this community. Mr. Watson says many are personally pro-life but don’t want to come out as such because they are not Republicans. Sixty to seventy percent of those who get an abortion feel they have no choice—yet the pro-abortion industry constantly attacks any choice that isn’t abortion (frequent slandering and bombing of pregnancy crisis centers, for instance). As Christians we ought to step up and make it possible for moms to choose life by providing whatever support we can. And if we can make unplanned pregnancies rarer (such as through better education and opportunities for blacks, promoting sex only after marriage), that’s even better.
I think a lot of it was common sense, and I’m not sure all his solutions would work (he expects government programs to be efficient, transparent, and fraudless), but I think the principles are spot on: life matters. When a society puts a price on a life based on how much that life “contributes to society,” it is soon going to collapse into darkness. All life is inherently priceless, and we have a responsibility to assist the vulnerable, aged, disabled, disadvantaged, and very young however we can. If we devalue one class of people, it’s easy to devalue another. Celebrate parents and parenthood. A career is fleeting; a family is forever.
As a former NFL player, Mr. Watson uses a number of football analogies. I had no idea what any of these meant.
Language: Clean
Sexual Content: None
Violence/Gore: Mild
Harm to Animals:
Harm to Children:
Other (Triggers):
================================
HIGHLIGHTS
Given that the Black population in the US currently stands around 44 million, abortion has effectively reduced the size of the Black community in this country by more than 30 percent. This does not include the children and grandchildren each member of the missing generation may have produced. Regardless of a person’s opinion about abortion, the fact that it disproportionately eliminates members of a specific minority community represents a significant sociological problem.
Though Planned Parenthood formally denounced Sanger in 2021, some, like Pro-Black Pro-Life founder Cherilyn Holloway, argue that Sanger’s spirit lives on in Planned Parenthood’s strident dedication to taking the lives of unborn children of color. Planned Parenthood was planted with the seeds of eugenics, and that’s the fruit we are seeing in our community. “The thing about systemic racism, in all of its facets, is that it is not something you can touch or see while it is happening because it is constantly working to oppress. Instead, what we see are the results of it. … That is why we see a disproportionate abortion rate in the black community; that is why we see them targeting our neighborhoods with subpar women’s ‘healthcare,’ and that is why the systemic issues with Planned Parenthood run so deep.”
Rightly considered by many to be an act of genocide, the practice of selectively weeding out “undesirables” via involuntary sterilization is not only a crime against humanity but an outright denial of humanity. And although today most people would not openly endorse eugenics, we as a society are guilty of assigning value to people based on their perceived contribution to the world. We tend to think a person’s worth rises and falls in accordance with their abilities, their prospective earning potential, and what we stand to gain or lose from them. Whether we admit it or not, we make these value calculations all the time, constantly asking ourselves, How can this person help me?
Some would claim that a child who grows up poor, unwanted, or uneducated is better off not growing up at all. In fact, doctors routinely encourage parents to terminate pregnancies when prenatal screening and diagnostic testing reveal the possibility or an anomaly such as Down syndrome or another congenital condition. Underpinning this recommendation is the idea that a child’s worth is determined by their statistical probability to achieve our society’s predetermined metrics of success. Their worth and value are based solely on their projected contributions to society. But everyone—man, woman, and child—has inherent value that transcends age, ethnicity, ability, and development This worth is not something that can be earned, transferred, or lost. It is an irremovable, irrevocable stamp, embossed on each of us by a Creator who saw fit to make men and women in his own image.
In moments of crisis and life-altering decisions, abortion-determined women don’t need judgment or condemnation. They need compassionate action that will address the complex web of circumstances that make them vulnerable to irreversible, heart-shattering decisions.
Radio host Gloria Purvis adeptly rejects this faulty reasoning [claims that maternity kills black women] by articulating what these women say they actually want and need: “access to wholesome food and clean water, safe and affordable housing, good schools, good jobs, [and] spouses with good jobs.” Purvis further explains, “The very women being used as mascots for abortion rights are the women who do not want abortion. The overemphasis on abortion while ignoring what these women want and need is reproductive coercion. The failure to meet their actual material needs while eagerly providing abortion does not provide what poor Black women and their families need. Their conditions will never improve by removing the unborn children from the community.” This means the pro-life community must answer the question, How are we going to step up? What life-giving options will we provide to women facing unplanned pregnancies? How will we make choosing life easier and more accessible? Most importantly, how will we embrace a new mission? How will we fight for justice, disrupting the pathways that lead to abortion in the first place and slaying this evil at its source?
Protecting the baby in the womb from extermination is a vital part of what it means to be pro-life, but it’s just the beginning. Being truly committed to life also means doing everything we can to ensure that these babies—and their mothers—not only survive but thrive.
Research indicates that post-abortive women are at a highly increased risk for clinical depression, alcohol and drug abuse, suicidal thoughts, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other emotional and mental health issues. But there is power in sharing our testimonies with others who are dealing with the same sort of trauma and grief. For many, simply knowing they are not alone is a blessing in itself.
As a culture, however, we’ve done a poor job casting motherhood. Instead of viewing it as something to be celebrated, childbearing is often framed as one of the worse things that can happen to a woman. It interferes with school, it’s expensive, and it disrupts a woman’s career. And all too often, the father disappears, leaving the mother to go it alone. As a result, rather than seeing pregnancy as the beginning of new life, many women perceive it as the end of the life they envisioned for themselves.
The pro-choice industry and its government allies seem committed to attacking the type of life-affirming free assistance offered at PRCs and FQHCs, opting instead to throw their support behind Planned Parenthood and other like-minded organizations, to the point of lobbying for the establishment of abortion facilities rather than maternity-care centers on federal land. “Women deserve life-affirming solutions to critical health-care shortages,” says Live Action researcher Carole Novielli. “What they don’t need are unregulated virtual and mobile abortion options, and chemical abortion pills. It is past time for policymakers to pivot from abortion advocacy to building real healthcare options for women. Finally, our country’s foster-care system is in need of additional funding.
Children need a positive male influence in their lives too. Children who grow up without a father are four times more likely to grow up in poverty and twice as likely to drop out of school. They are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, and more likely to go to prison. Girls who grow up without fathers are seven times more likely to become pregnant as teens. Further, abortion-determined women list the lack of support from the baby’s father as one of the primary obstacles to choosing life. With all this in mind, I can’t overstate the importance of men’s role in the new fight for life.
In many respects, I believe the new fight for life is a spiritual battle. A big part of Satan’s plan to destroy humankind is to go after men’s relationships with women. That’s exactly what he did in the Garden: he pitted Adam against Eve, and after he turned them against each other, he went after their children. From the very beginning, Satan has perverted sex, using it to ruin relationships instead of enhancing them, and destroying life instead of creating it. And he’s still doing this today.
Russell Moore, a public theologian who serves as editor in chief for Christianity Today, writes, “A church that loses its distinctiveness is a church that has nothing distinctive with which to engage the culture. A worldly church is of no good to the world.” He goes on to explain that “if we simply dissolve into the culture around us, or refuse to leave untroubled the questions the culture deems too insensitive to ask, we are not on mission at all.” Ultimately, “a Christianity that is walled off from the culture around it is a Christianity that dies.”
This is an interesting look at the pro-life movement from a social justice perspective, specifically how abortion has affected the Black community in the United States. Most abortions are of black children, so it disproportionately impacts this community. Mr. Watson says many are personally pro-life but don’t want to come out as such because they are not Republicans. Sixty to seventy percent of those who get an abortion feel they have no choice—yet the pro-abortion industry constantly attacks any choice that isn’t abortion (frequent slandering and bombing of pregnancy crisis centers, for instance). As Christians we ought to step up and make it possible for moms to choose life by providing whatever support we can. And if we can make unplanned pregnancies rarer (such as through better education and opportunities for blacks, promoting sex only after marriage), that’s even better.
I think a lot of it was common sense, and I’m not sure all his solutions would work (he expects government programs to be efficient, transparent, and fraudless), but I think the principles are spot on: life matters. When a society puts a price on a life based on how much that life “contributes to society,” it is soon going to collapse into darkness. All life is inherently priceless, and we have a responsibility to assist the vulnerable, aged, disabled, disadvantaged, and very young however we can. If we devalue one class of people, it’s easy to devalue another. Celebrate parents and parenthood. A career is fleeting; a family is forever.
As a former NFL player, Mr. Watson uses a number of football analogies. I had no idea what any of these meant.
Language: Clean
Sexual Content: None
Violence/Gore: Mild
Harm to Animals:
Harm to Children:
Other (Triggers):
================================
HIGHLIGHTS
Given that the Black population in the US currently stands around 44 million, abortion has effectively reduced the size of the Black community in this country by more than 30 percent. This does not include the children and grandchildren each member of the missing generation may have produced. Regardless of a person’s opinion about abortion, the fact that it disproportionately eliminates members of a specific minority community represents a significant sociological problem.
Though Planned Parenthood formally denounced Sanger in 2021, some, like Pro-Black Pro-Life founder Cherilyn Holloway, argue that Sanger’s spirit lives on in Planned Parenthood’s strident dedication to taking the lives of unborn children of color. Planned Parenthood was planted with the seeds of eugenics, and that’s the fruit we are seeing in our community. “The thing about systemic racism, in all of its facets, is that it is not something you can touch or see while it is happening because it is constantly working to oppress. Instead, what we see are the results of it. … That is why we see a disproportionate abortion rate in the black community; that is why we see them targeting our neighborhoods with subpar women’s ‘healthcare,’ and that is why the systemic issues with Planned Parenthood run so deep.”
Rightly considered by many to be an act of genocide, the practice of selectively weeding out “undesirables” via involuntary sterilization is not only a crime against humanity but an outright denial of humanity. And although today most people would not openly endorse eugenics, we as a society are guilty of assigning value to people based on their perceived contribution to the world. We tend to think a person’s worth rises and falls in accordance with their abilities, their prospective earning potential, and what we stand to gain or lose from them. Whether we admit it or not, we make these value calculations all the time, constantly asking ourselves, How can this person help me?
Some would claim that a child who grows up poor, unwanted, or uneducated is better off not growing up at all. In fact, doctors routinely encourage parents to terminate pregnancies when prenatal screening and diagnostic testing reveal the possibility or an anomaly such as Down syndrome or another congenital condition. Underpinning this recommendation is the idea that a child’s worth is determined by their statistical probability to achieve our society’s predetermined metrics of success. Their worth and value are based solely on their projected contributions to society. But everyone—man, woman, and child—has inherent value that transcends age, ethnicity, ability, and development This worth is not something that can be earned, transferred, or lost. It is an irremovable, irrevocable stamp, embossed on each of us by a Creator who saw fit to make men and women in his own image.
In moments of crisis and life-altering decisions, abortion-determined women don’t need judgment or condemnation. They need compassionate action that will address the complex web of circumstances that make them vulnerable to irreversible, heart-shattering decisions.
Radio host Gloria Purvis adeptly rejects this faulty reasoning [claims that maternity kills black women] by articulating what these women say they actually want and need: “access to wholesome food and clean water, safe and affordable housing, good schools, good jobs, [and] spouses with good jobs.” Purvis further explains, “The very women being used as mascots for abortion rights are the women who do not want abortion. The overemphasis on abortion while ignoring what these women want and need is reproductive coercion. The failure to meet their actual material needs while eagerly providing abortion does not provide what poor Black women and their families need. Their conditions will never improve by removing the unborn children from the community.” This means the pro-life community must answer the question, How are we going to step up? What life-giving options will we provide to women facing unplanned pregnancies? How will we make choosing life easier and more accessible? Most importantly, how will we embrace a new mission? How will we fight for justice, disrupting the pathways that lead to abortion in the first place and slaying this evil at its source?
Protecting the baby in the womb from extermination is a vital part of what it means to be pro-life, but it’s just the beginning. Being truly committed to life also means doing everything we can to ensure that these babies—and their mothers—not only survive but thrive.
Research indicates that post-abortive women are at a highly increased risk for clinical depression, alcohol and drug abuse, suicidal thoughts, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other emotional and mental health issues. But there is power in sharing our testimonies with others who are dealing with the same sort of trauma and grief. For many, simply knowing they are not alone is a blessing in itself.
As a culture, however, we’ve done a poor job casting motherhood. Instead of viewing it as something to be celebrated, childbearing is often framed as one of the worse things that can happen to a woman. It interferes with school, it’s expensive, and it disrupts a woman’s career. And all too often, the father disappears, leaving the mother to go it alone. As a result, rather than seeing pregnancy as the beginning of new life, many women perceive it as the end of the life they envisioned for themselves.
The pro-choice industry and its government allies seem committed to attacking the type of life-affirming free assistance offered at PRCs and FQHCs, opting instead to throw their support behind Planned Parenthood and other like-minded organizations, to the point of lobbying for the establishment of abortion facilities rather than maternity-care centers on federal land. “Women deserve life-affirming solutions to critical health-care shortages,” says Live Action researcher Carole Novielli. “What they don’t need are unregulated virtual and mobile abortion options, and chemical abortion pills. It is past time for policymakers to pivot from abortion advocacy to building real healthcare options for women. Finally, our country’s foster-care system is in need of additional funding.
Children need a positive male influence in their lives too. Children who grow up without a father are four times more likely to grow up in poverty and twice as likely to drop out of school. They are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, and more likely to go to prison. Girls who grow up without fathers are seven times more likely to become pregnant as teens. Further, abortion-determined women list the lack of support from the baby’s father as one of the primary obstacles to choosing life. With all this in mind, I can’t overstate the importance of men’s role in the new fight for life.
In many respects, I believe the new fight for life is a spiritual battle. A big part of Satan’s plan to destroy humankind is to go after men’s relationships with women. That’s exactly what he did in the Garden: he pitted Adam against Eve, and after he turned them against each other, he went after their children. From the very beginning, Satan has perverted sex, using it to ruin relationships instead of enhancing them, and destroying life instead of creating it. And he’s still doing this today.
Russell Moore, a public theologian who serves as editor in chief for Christianity Today, writes, “A church that loses its distinctiveness is a church that has nothing distinctive with which to engage the culture. A worldly church is of no good to the world.” He goes on to explain that “if we simply dissolve into the culture around us, or refuse to leave untroubled the questions the culture deems too insensitive to ask, we are not on mission at all.” Ultimately, “a Christianity that is walled off from the culture around it is a Christianity that dies.”
May 6, 2024
This book definitely encompassed a very necessary conversation around not just the morality of abortion issue of pro-life, but the systemic and racial issues that conservatives tend to silence. It’s one of those books/conversations that will ruffle feathers on both sides of the political spectrum…which is basically exactly how I consider my viewpoints so that’s probably why I liked it 😅
February 26, 2024
I was excited to pick up this book by Benjamin Watson, as I loved his other book, Under Our Skin. While I agreed with and could advocate for some of his message here (particularly chapter 7, where he mentions the importance of men as protectors and providers, and churches welcoming women who are single mothers or had babies out of wedlock), many of his solutions are based in progressive political policies that have been proven ineffective and actually harmful and regressive. For much of Chapter 6: The Root of the Problem, I was appalled by some of the things he was suggesting that would help the Black community and women. Most of his examples involved redistributing wealth and government handouts (which have already been tried and found wanting... the welfare system has done nothing but harm Black communities and perpetuate poverty, the data proves this, just look at the effects from the time of LBJ's Great Society.) I DID agree with him on the government being more involved in help for women and men as far as paid maternity/paternity leave is concerned (I'm not totally against the government being involved in certain aspects of it's citizens lives). I really have a problem with the avoidance of mentioning just how much the Democratic Party has a hand in these egregious public policies and abortion, and Benjamin Watson does this. Can we just have some intellectual integrity from these Christian activists and just call a spade a spade... No, the Republican Party is not perfect and has strayed far from its supposed platform based in so-called "conservatism". But ONE PARTY has touted this platform (abortion), especially in recent years, as a human right, and that it is acceptable up until the point of birth. Benjamin fails to mention this as he pleads that it's fine to be either a Democrat or Republican and be pro-life. Also, the Democratic Party has been in control of the school systems (public school unions as well as the Department of Education) for YEARS, as well as most urban areas and cities where Black communities reside are dominated year after year by Democrats (just look at California and NYC), and the majority of Blacks in this country vote Democratic, and where is the change? Have they really been advocating for them all these years if schools are declining and communities are in rapid decay? While I agreed with him on many of his takes regarding the family and the "consumer mentality" of many churches, his almost purely secular viewpoints of politics and justice were very disappointing.
June 12, 2023
A good book about the history of abortion as well as practical steps to take in current society to make it where abortion is no longer viewed as an option for women facing homelessness, poverty, etc. This book focuses on a Christian perspective and how churches can come behind women to support them. While I don't 100 agree with everything Benjamin Watson writes, this book is a great conversation starter and really focuses on the fact that we aren't all on the extremes like the media makes us out to believe.
"Making abortion unthinkable will require a change in the mindset, expectations, and sensibilities of our nation. It means creating a culture that values and supports motherhood so that pregnancy is seen no longer as an ending but a beginning. It will require deprogramming and reconstructing a national consciousness that has been conditioned to accept this evil as normal."
"Making abortion unnecessary means knocking down the barriers that obstruct a woman's view of her future as a parent by providing the resources and support that make choosing life a viable option. This will require a holistic effort at every level of society, repairing systems that drive women- particularly Black women- to believe they have no other choice."
I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
"Making abortion unthinkable will require a change in the mindset, expectations, and sensibilities of our nation. It means creating a culture that values and supports motherhood so that pregnancy is seen no longer as an ending but a beginning. It will require deprogramming and reconstructing a national consciousness that has been conditioned to accept this evil as normal."
"Making abortion unnecessary means knocking down the barriers that obstruct a woman's view of her future as a parent by providing the resources and support that make choosing life a viable option. This will require a holistic effort at every level of society, repairing systems that drive women- particularly Black women- to believe they have no other choice."
I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
July 9, 2023
“Overturning Roe can’t be the end goal for a movement that claims to love life….The true goal is to make abortion unthinkable and unnecessary.”
This is an important book for those who are pro-life. While Roe may have been overturned, we have a long ways to go to care for ALL life—from womb to tomb. Watson does a great job communicating the disproportionate effects abortion has on black women, systemic ways to address root causes of abortion, and how everyday people like you and me can make abortion unthinkable and unnecessary.
You will have to wade through a plethora of football anecdotes, but I found Watson’s arguments to be compelling and thoughtful.
This is an important book for those who are pro-life. While Roe may have been overturned, we have a long ways to go to care for ALL life—from womb to tomb. Watson does a great job communicating the disproportionate effects abortion has on black women, systemic ways to address root causes of abortion, and how everyday people like you and me can make abortion unthinkable and unnecessary.
You will have to wade through a plethora of football anecdotes, but I found Watson’s arguments to be compelling and thoughtful.
October 13, 2024
I got to know Ben (the author) briefly at a camp he brought his family to that I worked in college. I gained a lot of respect for him as a father and husband, and have since gained more seeing him use his platform so boldly.
Ben Watson is, and, I hope, will continue to be a clear, compassionate, and winsome voice in the pro-life movement.
Ben Watson is, and, I hope, will continue to be a clear, compassionate, and winsome voice in the pro-life movement.
May 20, 2025
Really, really enjoyed this book. I’ll be thinking and talking about it for a while.
October 15, 2023
4.5 I really enjoyed the book, I just disagreed with some policies he recommended towards the end, but we can agree to disagree.
February 19, 2023
This book reexamines the pro-life fight in a post-Roe America. The author, Benjamin Watson, is a prominent Christian, pro-life advocate. But unlike the stereotypical pro-lifer, he does not align himself with a particular political group. Watson's vision is to reduce the abortion rate by providing social support to marginalized women and children. He emphasizes that God values every person, no matter their race, religion, or socioeconomic status. He argues for comprehensive social reform to improve outcomes for pregnant women. Watson's goal is to create a world that is so just and supportive to women and children that abortion becomes a rarity.
No matter where you lie on the political spectrum, this book will challenge your beliefs, especially if you align yourself with a particular political party. This book will urge you to take tangible steps in your community to help new mothers, and will inspire you to support social initiatives to improve outcomes for all pregnancies.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest feedback!
No matter where you lie on the political spectrum, this book will challenge your beliefs, especially if you align yourself with a particular political party. This book will urge you to take tangible steps in your community to help new mothers, and will inspire you to support social initiatives to improve outcomes for all pregnancies.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest feedback!
July 21, 2023
This book is not what I expect. I was raised in a desegregated neighborhood and had friends of every race. As someone who didn't even know what racism was until I was in my 20's, I was surprised by how much race played into abortion. There are a lot of good proposals made in this book, to address supporting women who choose not to abort, but I can't see those ideas ever coming to fruition by the government. Mr. Watson quotes a lot of the Bible in addressing what should be done to make abortion "unnecessary and unthinkable", but underemphasis the most important aspect. God gave us sex as a way for a husband and wife to have children. The majority of women seeking an abortion could have prevented the pregnancy in the first place by not having sex, but very little emphasis is put on abstinence. If one has the view that abortion is against God's will, then the purpose of sex should be emphasized just as much. Pregnancy does not "just happen". Actions have consequences and the government can't be responsible for everyone's actions. This book doesn't address the fact of people not wanting to take responsibility for their own actions.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2024
It was great to get to hear Ben speak at an event so I read this book in preparation. I was not a fan of the book. Ben was a fantastic speaker and a 5-star pro life advocate for whom I have great respect.
However this book was advocating for a set of political progressive political policies as a solution to stopping abortion. This is not a perspective I would share.
It also suffered from both side-isms that aren’t true. For example in his chapter on politics, he tried to present a world where both sides of the political aisle have pros and cons related to aborting babies. However he neglected to mention that one of the parties has endorsed the practice of aborting babies through birth in their platform and celebrates baby murder as a right. How can I take his analysis of the intersection of abortion and politics seriously when he neglects to even mention that fact.
However this book was advocating for a set of political progressive political policies as a solution to stopping abortion. This is not a perspective I would share.
It also suffered from both side-isms that aren’t true. For example in his chapter on politics, he tried to present a world where both sides of the political aisle have pros and cons related to aborting babies. However he neglected to mention that one of the parties has endorsed the practice of aborting babies through birth in their platform and celebrates baby murder as a right. How can I take his analysis of the intersection of abortion and politics seriously when he neglects to even mention that fact.
March 21, 2023
I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I am familiar with Benjamin Watson as a football fan and have been following him on social media. He is very outspoken on social justice and it’s ties to abortion. He explains this in more detail from slavery to Margaret Sanger to the disproportionally high abortion rate for black females today and some of the mindset many have in relation to history and choice. He gives a womb to tomb call to action for the church ( especially the Black church) and I agree with so many of his ideas, thoughts and action plan. What he describes is what the pro-life movement really is. Unfortunately, many haven’t seen this and it leaves a lot of the pro life movement misunderstood and misrepresented by the media.
I am familiar with Benjamin Watson as a football fan and have been following him on social media. He is very outspoken on social justice and it’s ties to abortion. He explains this in more detail from slavery to Margaret Sanger to the disproportionally high abortion rate for black females today and some of the mindset many have in relation to history and choice. He gives a womb to tomb call to action for the church ( especially the Black church) and I agree with so many of his ideas, thoughts and action plan. What he describes is what the pro-life movement really is. Unfortunately, many haven’t seen this and it leaves a lot of the pro life movement misunderstood and misrepresented by the media.
June 29, 2023
This is not the book I expected, and that is okay. It's actually beyond okay. Watson has written a book that approaches the pro-life stance from multiple angles through the lens of a Black and Christian person; and regarding, how Black people, particularly women, have been treated in the United States.
My takes:
- We are fighting for justice, but what our definition of justice is .
- Working to not only fight injustice, but to put systems in place that eradicate it
- Justice is bigger, because God is bigger
- Have to know the injustices of the past to learn of current situations.
- Need to empathize with the plight of others through compassion and shifting perceptions.
- Need to make sacrifices to make abortion unthinkable and unnecessary. Those sacrifices are worth it.
- Abortion is not the only issue for the right to life.
- Need to think about ways in which we can influence societal changes.
- Change the narrative that having a baby ruins a woman’s life.
My takes:
- We are fighting for justice, but what our definition of justice is .
- Working to not only fight injustice, but to put systems in place that eradicate it
- Justice is bigger, because God is bigger
- Have to know the injustices of the past to learn of current situations.
- Need to empathize with the plight of others through compassion and shifting perceptions.
- Need to make sacrifices to make abortion unthinkable and unnecessary. Those sacrifices are worth it.
- Abortion is not the only issue for the right to life.
- Need to think about ways in which we can influence societal changes.
- Change the narrative that having a baby ruins a woman’s life.
August 14, 2024
Wow. Most excellent book. Fantastic read. Here a wonderful quote made by the author from the pages within this book, “IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO PLACE LEGAL RESTRICTIONS ON ABORTION.
OUR HIGHER, MORE COMPLETE CALLING MUST BE TO ADDRESS THE FACTORS THAT DRIVE WOMEN TO CHOOSE ABORTION BY REMOVING THE OBSTACLES THAT STAND IN THE WAY OF CHOOSING LIFE.”
Let’s get beyond the current culture strongholds and political party stupidities. This material cuts through this mess. The author is simply willing to walk with individuals with love and grace.
If someone is to ask is God pro choice or pro life, one could say He’s both. But one thing is I am willing to say with certainty, God is ANTI-abortion. Great read. Recommended.
OUR HIGHER, MORE COMPLETE CALLING MUST BE TO ADDRESS THE FACTORS THAT DRIVE WOMEN TO CHOOSE ABORTION BY REMOVING THE OBSTACLES THAT STAND IN THE WAY OF CHOOSING LIFE.”
Let’s get beyond the current culture strongholds and political party stupidities. This material cuts through this mess. The author is simply willing to walk with individuals with love and grace.
If someone is to ask is God pro choice or pro life, one could say He’s both. But one thing is I am willing to say with certainty, God is ANTI-abortion. Great read. Recommended.
November 26, 2023
Watson courageously challenges both sides of the aisle (and all facets of society) to think about this issue less in terms of finger-wagging, moralism and more in terms of the holistic support needed to uphold the value of motherhood and of life. He also offers a unique perspective as a Black father of 7, who views Black women as too often made vulnerable based on years of systemic racial injustice. He offers concrete ways to address this complex issue. Bravo.
November 27, 2023
I read most of this before I had to return it and while I don't think finishing the last chapters would have unraveled anything monumental, from other reviews it sound like he went into suggested policies so I can't speak to that portion.
From what I read, Watson makes many valid and sometimes seemingly obvious points. Yet, the connection between the civil rights movement and pro-life movement are often overlooked by both sides, unfortunately.
From what I read, Watson makes many valid and sometimes seemingly obvious points. Yet, the connection between the civil rights movement and pro-life movement are often overlooked by both sides, unfortunately.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 31, 2024
Thought-provoking and thorough, not to mention timely. While I don't agree with everything in the book, I am grateful to have even opposing thoughts laid out in a respectful and thoughtful way. Not only is the book well-researched, it felt like a neutral territory to me most of the time, something glaringly absent from most discourses about life and rights. Recommended reading for both sides of the aisle.
September 29, 2023
This is a must read for anyone who professes to be pro life. We must be motivated and prepared to support the pregnant, unwed mother throughout her pregnancy and after to help her raise her child. A wonderful example to emulate is in the book. A women's church group accepts a single mom into their group and continues to support her and her now five year old daughter.
October 26, 2023
A deft treatment of a sadly divisive topic. Watson paints a broad and deep analysis of how we got here and how we might start to make abortion unthinkable and unnecessary. However you think about the abortion issue, this book will challenge you. The way forward Watson proposes makes sense, but will not be easy. But it could just work.
July 8, 2023
4.5 stars
This book is a call for understanding and empathy, and a call to action, specifically for the church. As usual, the author writes convicting truth with grace, always with an eye on the gospel and how it transforms lives.
This book is a call for understanding and empathy, and a call to action, specifically for the church. As usual, the author writes convicting truth with grace, always with an eye on the gospel and how it transforms lives.
April 10, 2024
A must-read for anyone thinking through the issue of abortion as a Christian. Being "pro-life" means more than opposing abortion; it means helping mothers, having compassion, and fighting for racial justice.
March 26, 2025
Comprehensive and wholistic! The conversation the church should have been having the whole time. This book is rife with ideas and solutions that the white church in my experience is not talking about on a grand scale.
January 20, 2024
This was a great book on life, justice and race. I am thankful to be able to read books from black authors like Benjamin that give insight into the black pro-life and churches point of view that extend to both side of political lines. This is a book about justice from womb to tomb and about how to engage our culture with actions and true support for mothers in difficult situations.
May 28, 2025
Thank you for your stand for life, sir! And, yes, in addition to choosing life, parents (and their beautiful babies) do need material needs met as well. God bless.
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