The Pro Life Movement Cannot Win By Justice Alone: Why Mercy for Mothers Is the Missing Piece

Can the Pro Life Movement Protect Babies and Show Mercy to Mothers at the Same Time?

A prominent health policy consultant is calling on the pro life movement to rethink its approach to abortion legislation, arguing that justice for the unborn and mercy for vulnerable mothers are not mutually exclusive.

Shawn Zierke, who holds an MBA and a Master of Public Health in Health Policy, published an op ed in The Christian Post on February 13, 2026, outlining a five step framework that she believes could help the movement craft laws that are both enforceable and compassionate.

Zierke, who consults with pregnancy help clinics and pro life organizations on governance and compliance, pointed to alarming research showing pregnancy coercion rates ranging from 1% to 19%, depending on context. She identified multiple pressure points women face, including threats from partners, family shame, employer pressure, and trafficking situations.

Male sexual irresponsibility, abandonment, pornography, and coercion form a pipeline into abortion.

The five step legal framework Zierke proposed includes criminal penalties for abortion providers and sellers, treating illegal drug distribution as trafficking, enforcement against coercion, expanded support services for mothers, and post abortion recovery funding.

On the topic of medication abortion, which represented 63% of all U.S. abortions in 2023, Zierke raised serious concerns about mail order pill systems that bypass critical safeguards. She noted these systems often fail to verify gestational age or screen for ectopic pregnancies, putting women's lives at risk.

Her central argument is that if the pro life movement wants laws that last and actually save lives, it should pursue reforms that match both truth and the lived reality of women facing crisis pregnancies.

Why Pro Life Laws Must Address Both Abortion Providers and Support for Mothers

Zierke emphasized that true justice must hold accountable those who profit from abortion while simultaneously offering lifelines to the women who feel they have no other choice. She called for expanded pregnancy resource centers, adoption support, and post abortion healing programs as essential components of any meaningful legislation.

Her proposal reflects a growing voice within the pro life movement that recognizes punitive measures alone will not end abortion. Instead, a comprehensive approach that combines legal consequences for providers with real support for mothers offers the best path to protecting both the unborn and their mothers.

The Crusader's Opinion

Every year, abortion kills more human beings than any war, any disease, any natural disaster. In the United States alone, the abortion industry has built a pipeline that preys on vulnerable women, profits from their despair, and calls it "healthcare." Shawn Zierke is right: the men who abandon these women, the pill mills that ship abortion drugs without a single medical safeguard, the coercers who threaten and manipulate, they are the predators. Our laws should treat them as such. But let us be absolutely clear: mercy for mothers and justice for the unborn are not competing values. They are the same fight. A civilization that cannot protect its most innocent has already lost its soul.

Take Action

• Contact your state representative and urge them to support legislation that penalizes abortion providers while funding pregnancy resource centers. Find your rep at usa.gov/elected-officials.
• Volunteer or donate to your local pregnancy help center. Find one near you at optionline.org or call 1 800 712 HELP.
• Support www.TheShepherdsShield.org to help Christians facing persecution and crisis around the world.
• Share this article with your church community and start a conversation about how your congregation can support women facing crisis pregnancies.
• Donate to Support After Abortion to fund post abortion recovery programs that help women heal.