Fight against human trafficking: “New face” of pro-life?
A columnist at USA Today notices that Christians are fighting human trafficking and spins it as “a new face of the ‘pro-life’ movement”. It’s really an old face, of course, but publicity for the cause is always welcome.
Now that he knows the name of a young enslaved prostitute in Indonesia — it’s Eka, pronounced “Ecka” — Mike Mercer is all in. The human-trafficking resister from Oregon is committed not just to the reclamation of Eka’s freedom and her pre-slavery lot in life, but also to her enjoying life prospects far brighter than if she had never been trafficked and had never crossed his path.
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Mercer and the younger generation of fervent Jesus followers pose a fascinating challenge to older-generation evangelical Christianity, too. This younger wave will not stick to the narrow old script — abortion, gays, the erosion of Christian prerogatives in the public square — that has governed publicly applied evangelicalism since the ’70s.These modern-day abolitionists, along with growing ranks of faith-fueled activists in the fight against global poverty, disease and other forms of human degradation, might not see themselves as political. Even so, intentionally or not, they could end up changing the meaning of a political movement and idea — “pro life” — that has been at the center of one of the most rancorous political arguments of our time.
Could Christian opposition to human trafficking and sex slavery change the meaning of “pro-life”? I think not. The impulse that drives concern for the enslaved is the same as what impels anti-abortion activism. In obedience to our Lord’s teaching and example, Christians care about the vulnerable and the disadvantaged, and give their God-given talents and resources to help the oppressed.
To point out the obvious, Christian anti-slavery activism goes back centuries. The fight to abolish slavery in the British Empire was led by evangelical MP William Wilberforce, who has been an enduring inspiration for Christian political activism.
Just because mainstream media are raising the visibility of Christian opposition to human trafficking doesn’t mean that the struggle against abortion is moving onto the back burner. Both are—and will remain—pro-life causes.
h/t: TitusOneNine
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