My generation, Gen Z, is known for its social consciousness. We’ve been born and bred to care deeply about the environment, equality, and each other. Gen Z came of age during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we’re acutely aware of how difficult life can be, not just for ourselves but for those we may never meet. Through social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, we’re exposed to more people’s stories than ever before.
Enter the abortion issue. It’s no secret the abortion debate is central to the social landscape of our generation. During high school, I saw some friends attend the Women’s March and others attend the March for Life. During college, I had dorm-room-floor conversations with friends who advocated for a woman’s right to choose, and during my graduate degree, I saw Roe overturned. I’ve shed tears while learning about the realities and results of abortion even while choosing to carefully listen to friends who disagree with me.
Mantras like “My body, my choice” reflect pro-choice Americans’ value of individual freedom and autonomy. Those of us with a biblically informed worldview may see a blatant rejection of the sanctity of human life. But in the mind of the pro-choice advocate, this isn’t a denial of a child’s life so much as a conscious decision to support the person with whom she can most empathize—a person in the middle of a story much like her own.
Gen Zers talk a lot about “empathy,” a sense of identifying with another person that moves beyond sympathy and into understanding his or her unique experiences. As the abortion debate makes clear, empathy is a great strength but has its limitations.
Gen Z’s Need for Empathy
Gen Z is the most diverse generation in American history, and that reality requires we work hard at understanding one another. Gen Zers want to understand where others are coming from, and when we can’t, many choose to trust others’ perspectives and validate their experiences. This rationale stands behind much pro-choice advocacy. It says, “I don’t know what life circumstances would lead a woman to choose abortion, but that’s not for me to dictate.”
Gen Z is the most diverse generation in American history, and that reality requires we work hard at understanding one another.
But the pro-choice rationale isn’t the only conclusion people can reach through empathy. When I finished my undergraduate degree, I interned at a pregnancy resource center, The Pregnancy Network, in Greensboro, North Carolina. Learning about the difficult circumstances women with unplanned pregnancies face brought me back to the same core value my generation shares: empathy.
Empathy for the abortion-minded woman.
Empathy for the undecided woman.
Empathy for the woman experiencing housing insecurity.
Empathy for the woman facing financial difficulties.
Empathy for the woman with little support for her pregnancy.
Empathy for the woman in an unhealthy relationship.
With empathy, I can seek to understand the women who come to our center for help. With empathy, I’m led toward compassion and practical care.
Empathy’s Limits
But empathy alone can’t sustain hurting women, lead them with truth, or offer the fullness of life that the Savior can. The Christian gospel provides more than empathy alone.
Empathy is subjective; it can bring comfort but not truth. Jesus came to bring both. As John wrote, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
When we discuss abortion, we must do so with a heart posture informed by and saturated in the grace and truth of the gospel. The message of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection humbles us, leading us to turn from our self-righteousness (1 Cor. 1:29–31). It’s transformed my heart, opening me to compassion for others whose sin is different from mine.
The gospel rescues us from sin and the punishment due for sin (Rom. 6:23). It empowers us to love differently from the world (12:9–21), leading people toward righteousness and away from sin. The best I can offer women facing unplanned pregnancies is the hope found in Christ and tangible resources that will equip them to follow him in the journey of pregnancy and parenthood.
From Empathy to Hope
I’ve come to believe that women deserve better than abortion, and I’m not alone. More and more, I see Gen Zers stepping into the front lines of pregnancy care. I’ve seen them serving women with compassion and love.
When we discuss abortion, we must do so with a heart posture informed by and saturated in the grace and truth of the gospel.
At The Pregnancy Network (where I serve), we offer women free medical services, educational classes, and material and community resources, as well as an opportunity to find community and mentorship. We offer women a chance to hear the gospel at every appointment.
Informed by empathy and motivated by the same gospel that saved us, we can both meet women where they are and point them to the One who will ultimately supply their every need according to his riches in glory (Phil. 4:19). We can offer them hope and a future (Jer. 29:11), remembering the One who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Pet. 2:9). The grace and truth offered to us in Christ enable us to move through empathy and into Christian love.
The Gospel Coalition