As reports of the humanitarian crisis at the border continue to surface, pro-life groups are behind the scenes taking action.
New Wave Feminists, a pro-life group known most notoriously for being denied a place at the Women’s March in Washington, teamed up with And Then There Were None (ATTWN), a group that supports former abortion clinic workers, to deliver aid to migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“The thing we keep hearing is, ‘Oh, pro-lifers don’t care about life outside the womb. Where are they at the border?’” founder of New Wave Feminists Destiny Herndon-De La Rosa told Catholic News Agency.
Herndon-De La Rosa said this statement is inaccurate, as last year multiple pro-life groups donated to help conditions at the border. She said this year more than 40 pro-life groups have contributed in a drive the organization is holding, including Loyola Catholic, Libertarian Light, FemCatholic, Latinos for Life and Mercy Missions.
“It’s been amazing to see how many other groups are getting involved and how those donations have multiplied because it isn’t just one pro-life group, it’s truly the pro-life movement that is getting behind this effort,” she remarked.
New Wave Feminists has received more than $16,900 in cash donations, while ATTWN garnered $12,800 worth of donated goods through a registry on Amazon which includes toiletries, diapers, and other basic necessities.
Herndon-De La Rosa said that being pro-life means caring about all human life.
“It’s not a political issue, it’s a people issue. And so, if we care about the human dignity of the child in the womb, then we also care about the human dignity of the migrant. We care about the human dignity of all people, and that’s because we subscribe to the consistent life ethic,” she said.
"Let’s be a movement that reaches out to those who need our physical and emotional assistance…whether those people are walking into an abortion clinic, at the border, or are homeless.” CEO of ATTWN Abby Johnson said in a social media post.
These comments come after multiple users on Twitter criticized pro-life advocates for “neglecting” the crisis at the border, labeling them hypocrites in their support for life.
Also the hypocrisy of pro-life folks saying/doing absolutely nothing about the border crisis is not lost on me. Selectively choosing which lives matter and which ones “don’t” is unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/8CcY9MrFDH
— Gabby Bacha (@gabster_radster) July 3, 2019
The GOP doesn’t care about babies at all - especially brown, black, or poor ones. If they did, they’d:
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 17, 2019
- cosponsor the Green New Deal or at LEAST have a real climate plan
- guarantee healthcare so ALL can get prenatal care
- not stand for the death+caging of babies on our border
I haven't heard a single word from pro-life groups about the migrant crisis at our border, the conditions of migrants held in concentration camps there, or the continued assaults and murders of black trans women in this country. Your hypocrisy is sickening.
— Jonathan (@JWalkotten) July 2, 2019
Perhaps the funniest thing about this post is the misnomer "pro life," for these are the same people in favor of the real crisis at our southern border - separating families and traumatizing children as a means to deter people from legally seeking asylum.
— Master of the Obvious (@CrowTRobot9) January 20, 2019
Obviously, these users (including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) have not done their research into actual pro-life activism. Pro-life groups are not hypocrites. They believe human life must be upheld and respected at any stage, and are actively engaged in efforts to support and protect it.
“We should be able to stand with the vulnerable wherever they are, and that extends beyond the womb,” Herndon-De La Rosa said.
The group's actions come after Congress passed a $4.6 billion humanitarian aid bill to address the crisis at the border in June.