The prolife status quo

i) Some Christians are rightly and understandably frustrated by the fact that the prolife movement hasn't made more progress. It may seem to be stalled. It suffers periodic setbacks. That's disheartening. It may seem futile. 

Keep in mind that that's not a failure of the prolife movement, per se. We shouldn't blame prolifers. We should blame the enemies of the unborn. Blame corrupt presidents, lawmakers, judges, and voters. 

ii) As a result, some Christians are impatient with the prolife movement. That can be good or bad depending on the kind of impatience we're talking about:

a) There's the kind of impatience that's a form of constructive self-criticism: "Should we try something new?" That's the right kind of impatience. 

b) There's a kind of impatience that's defeatist: "We haven't achieved our goals. Indeed, it looks unattainable. So let's give up." That's the wrong kind of impatience. 

iii) Progress is better than the status quo. We need to keep pushing. Not be complacent. 

iv) However, the status quo is better than regression. By that I mean, if we've made some gains up to a certain point, but we've hit a wall, then maintaining the status quo is better than losing ground. Just because the status quo falls short of what we want doesn't mean the status quo should be despised. If the status quo is better than the alternative, then it's worthwhile to defend of the status quo. Even if we're not making steady progress, maintaining the status quo is better than regression. We're still saving babies who'd die absent the status quo, however inadequate the status quo. 

v) Again, that doesn't mean we should content ourselves with the status quo. There may only be so much we can do at a given time or place. But that doesn't mean further progress is impossible. It may simply mean we have to stay faithful and keep up the pressure until we have a new opening. So it's a two-pronged strategy: (a) hang on to what you already achieved; (b) press for more.