The American Dream Begins with Life
Every January, thousands gather across the United States for the March for Life to stand behind the most basic truth of all: life matters from beginning to end. This year, as families, legislators, pastors, and advocates fill the streets of American cities, we’re reminded that the American Dream itself rests on that same truth.
Our Nation was founded on a promise that every person is endowed with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That promise was never meant to be selective or to apply only when convenient. And it was never meant to exclude the most vulnerable among us. Because without life, there is no liberty or pursuit of happiness at all.
To the women reading this, especially those who have faced unplanned pregnancies, difficult decisions, or seasons of fear, we want to speak to you directly: You are stronger than you know. And you deserve honesty, care, and real support.
American women are told empowerment only comes through a career, that being “pro-woman” means being “pro-choice,” and that strength means doing it all alone. That’s a lie. Real empowerment honors the full potential of women: our faith, our families, our ambitions, and our futures. A woman doesn’t have to choose one path to be fulfilled.
We see this most clearly in the rapid expansion of chemical abortion.
Abortion pills are increasingly marketed as quick, easy, and safe, prescribed through telehealth, mailed to homes, and taken without meaningful medical oversight. They’re presented as a simple solution for a woman confronted with an unplanned pregnancy.
But behind the messaging are real bodies, real side effects, and real trauma.
A recent paper by Dr. Jennifer Bauwens, The Physical and Mental Health Effects of Chemical Abortion, lays out what many women have quietly experienced. Chemical abortion carries serious physical risks, including hemorrhage, infection, and sepsis.
One in ten women who take abortion pills ends up in the emergency room with a major complication. Many report being unprepared for the pain, the bleeding, and the emotional trauma that follows.
Dr. Bauwens’ research also highlights the reality that many women seeking abortion have histories of trauma, coercion, or abuse. Without in-person care and proper safeguards, chemical abortion can hide exploitation rather than confront it.
Women and their unborn children deserve to know the truth about the negative effects of abortion on their bodies. They deserve medical care that prioritizes their safety and makes them aware of all of their options. They deserve to be screened for coercion, abuse, or pressure. And they deserve to know they are not alone.
They also deserve a Nation that does not erase fathers' rights or responsibilities. Encouraging a culture of fatherhood and holding fathers accountable for the children they help create is essential to supporting women and protecting families. Financial fear should never be the reason a woman feels cornered into ending a pregnancy.
A society that values women does not lower standards of care for the sake of convenience and call it progress. It raises the bar, promotes transparency, and walks with women through their hardest moments. That includes expanding access to childcare, supporting pregnancy resource centers, strengthening adoption pathways, and ensuring women are offered real alternatives instead of abortion as a default.
To pastors and people of faith: this moment calls for moral clarity and courage.
From the very beginning, our faith teaches that life is sacred and that every person is created in the image of God. That belief shapes how we respond when policies and cultural shifts leave women isolated and the most vulnerable among us at greater risk.
As people of faith, we must ask ourselves what it truly means to love our neighbor. It means telling the truth, even when it’s uncomfortable. It means standing with women when they are vulnerable and need real help. And it means affirming that liberty without responsibility is not liberty at all.
The Church has long stood in the gap: supporting mothers, encouraging adoption, strengthening families, and ensuring that no child is disposable and no woman is abandoned to face crisis alone. That calling has not changed.
When we defend life, we defend the foundation of liberty. When we protect women, support families, and affirm the responsibility of fathers, we strengthen our Republic. And when we choose life, we preserve the pursuit of happiness for generations yet to come.
The American Dream begins with life, and it is worth defending together.
Stacey Schieffelin is the Chair of America First Women’s Initiative, Chief External Affairs Officer, and Director of Talent & Culture at the America First Policy Institute.
Dr. Richard Rogers is the Vice Chair of American Values and leads Biblical Foundations at the America First Policy Institute.