I worked for a pro-life org, I grew up in a home where my mom spent thousands of hours volunteering at a pregnancy crisis center, I believe unborn babies are human beings made in God’s image and have equal value, dignity and worth. I believe abortion must end.

But how do we that? Though ending a life is a clear and simple wrong, ending abortion is not so clear and simple. The issue is complex, and even much of the data we have about it is confusing and contradictory.

Ending abortion will take a holistic solution, and so many—on all sides—miss that. You can implement laws that make getting a legal abortion difficult, if not impossible. But women will still get abortions illegally, and dangerously, if we don’t get to the root of the problem.

This is why, I believe the pro-life movement has failed. It’s spent so much time and energy on a partisan strategy that seeks to merely address abortion by overturning Roe.

I am not saying this approach is completely in vain, but it’s short-sighted and reactive; it doesn’t see the big picture and attempt to get out ahead of the problem.

If we want to end abortion, we need a bigger, better strategy, and one that brings together those on the Left and Right.

One of the biggest ways we can address abortion is by addressing systemic racism. From mass incarceration to economic inequality, there are countless injustices that cause and lead to the injustice of abortion.

In other words, most of these women don’t want to have abortions and believe it is wrong, but they find themselves in desperate, vulnerable situations in which they seem to have no other choice.

While I will advocate for choosing life even in those situations, why not do the work of fixing our broken systems and avoiding those situations altogether?

That’s just one of many ways that we can seek to end abortion, and many of the solutions aren’t even political.

The point is: We have got to be more creative and holistic in our approach. We have to separate this issue from identity politics altogether and figure out ways to work with and within both parties to actually make a difference.

PS: This why I believe it’s wrong to say that a vote for Biden is a vote for abortion. While the Democratic platform has some wrong thinking about abortion, it’s just not that black and white. Both parties are doing things that are reducing abortions and perpetuating the issue.