The Unbreakable Connection Between Civil Rights and The Sanctity of Life.

This time of year, we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and also recognize the Sanctity of Life in many churches around the country. For many of us, these have nothing to do with politics but with what God already revealed in scripture that every one of us is created in His image and has an inherent, spiritual dignity that cannot be taken away or earned.   "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."  Genesis 1:27.

This is why I believe there is an undeniable link between the Civil Rights Movement, which sought to recognize the rights of black Americans, and the Sanctity of Life movement, which seeks to value and protect the unborn.

Civil Rights for All

Dr. King changed America by leading a peaceful movement to end unfair laws that kept Black and white people separate. By using protests and powerful speeches, he showed the country that segregation was wrong and forced the government to pass new laws, like the Civil Rights Act, which made discrimination illegal. He challenged religious and political leaders as well as the average citizen to question what value they placed on human lives, particularly black lives.  He didn’t just change laws, though; he changed how people thought. He challenged Americans to live up to the idea that everyone is created equal and should be judged by their character rather than the color of their skin. His work opened doors for millions of people to vote, get better jobs, and go to the same schools, making the country a much fairer and more inclusive place. The movement he began eventually ended the “Jim Crow Laws and also secured voting rights for black citizens across our country.  The principles he based his movement upon were fundamentally biblical.

The Value of the Unborn

Before abortion was legal nationwide, several states began "liberalizing" or loosening their abortion laws. In response, small groups—mostly led by the Catholic Church—began to organize. The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) was formed in 1967 as one of the first major organizations to oppose these changes. This movement was also fundamentally biblical in nature.

Scripture depicts the unborn not as a potential human being, but as a person already known and intricately crafted by God. This divine value is most famously expressed in Psalm 139:13–16, where the author describes God "knitting" him together in the womb, emphasizing that God’s eyes saw his "unformed substance" and had already recorded the days of his life. This personal connection is echoed in Jeremiah 1:5, where God declares, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you," suggesting a relationship and a specific purpose that exists even before conception. Furthermore, the New Testament reinforces this personhood in Luke 1:41–44, where the unborn John the Baptist is described as leaping for joy in Elizabeth's womb upon hearing Mary's voice. Collectively, these passages affirm that from the biblical perspective, life in the womb is a sacred work of God, endowed with inherent dignity, a unique identity, and a divinely ordained future.

Al Rossi BS, THM