By Erin Kate Goode
Pregnancy has a way of pulling back the curtain of the soul. The news alone of an unborn baby’s existence stirs up something holy in us, inviting questions about God, life, purpose, and the future. In that way, babies are the world’s smallest evangelists.
Contrary to what our culture wants us to think, it’s not our job to decide which human life qualifies for personhood and which does not. It’s not a question of healthcare. It’s not a question of women’s rights. It’s not a question of politics or complexity. And yet for decades now, these labels have dulled our national conscience and numbed our God-given discernment.
Unborn people are handcrafted by God and designed with a purpose that predates their parents’ thoughts and plans. And because the gospel speaks about the worth of every soul, the way we respond to the issue of abortion is a measure of how well we truly understand the Great Commission.
When Jesus said, “Go and make disciples of all nations” in Matthew 28, the word “nations” is not limited to mere geographic lines drawn by man. It doesn’t take a passport to be obedient to God’s call — it just takes a heart willing to see and serve “the least of these.”
To the rest of the world, CPC Metro is “just another nonprofit.” But we believe it is a gospel response to the intensifying injustice of abortion right here in Mississippi. The unfortunate truth is that it’s easier than ever to get an abortion, even with Roe v. Wade overturned and Mississippi’s only abortion clinic closed. The abortion pill is now ordered through websites and discreetly shipped to all states, including those where abortion is illegal. It’s darkness. And we grieve that.
But we also have hope. Times like these are what the church is for: bringing light into darkness. So we will not stop defending the unborn just because the battle might seem impossible to win. We have seen God do impossible things.
We have seen God interrupt despair with hope. When Easton’s mom was considering abortion after previous abuse and didn’t know where to turn, she found CPC Metro on Google and walked through our doors. Here, she received love, encouragement, resources, and hope. Today, Easton is thriving in preschool, and his mom is a community college graduate.
We have seen God redeem decades of hurt through abortion wounds. Barb was 18 when she chose abortion and lived the next 43 years angry and broken. But God healed her wound and set her free through our abortion recovery ministry; and today, Barb is a regular CPC volunteer, helping those going through abortion healing.
If the gospel is for all people — and the unborn are, in fact, people — then the killing of the unborn is not a political issue. It’s not a medical issue. It’s not a women’s rights issue. It’s a gospel issue.
Erin Kate Goode is executive director of CPC Metro Area. A Laurel native, she earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from Millsaps College. She began volunteering with CPC in 2012, joined the staff in 2013, and became executive director in 2017. Erin Kate lives in Clinton with her husband, Jim, and their two children, and they are members of Morrison Heights Baptist Church.