How Families can Discuss Pro-Life Topics with Young Children

Jackie and Bobby Angel share tips for talking about pro-life issues with the little ones in your family.

Talking to our children about babies (and the arrival of a new baby) is usually a wonderful experience. The excitement and joy can be contagious as they run around the room in glee (even if moments of jealously come later upon setting eyes on the new sibling). We’ve even talked with our own kids about the babies lost through miscarriage and pray for their three siblings waiting for them outside of the veil of this world. 

Kids instinctively know that a baby ought to be protected and valued; whether or not the child is “wanted” doesn’t change the worth of that person. As Boston philosopher Peter Kreeft would say, “Takes no PhD to see that. In fact, it takes a PhD to miss it. “With innocence comes clarity: “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).  But as we grow older, we know that can start to rationalize and reason our way into justifying any horrendous decision. Our kids are looking to us to be the “experts” in answering their questions, and we cannot shy away from the uncomfortable conversations, and this includes questions surrounding the right-to-life debate. 

Talking with our children about the reality of abortion and other pro-life issues is something both important and delicate, and there are age-appropriate ways to bring up pro-life topics with our children. 

There are also books out there that can help kids visualize the baby in the womb as indeed a human person. One book we’ve used is Together We March by Emily Hawkins and Emily Prest that shows how every life is a miracle through colorful illustrations and rhymes: “Life is a gift we celebrate with joy, A gift that is precious that none should destroy.” Anyone who’s experienced the March for Life will delight in this book’s presentation of this movement’s importance.

Another great book for young kids is It’s Cold Outside by Grace Browne and Eden Linton. This book also colorfully shows the dynamic of siblings, one inside and one outside the womb. Learning about her sister’s beating heart, wiggling fingers and toes, the older sister engages with and plays her sibling: “You must be gentle, when I’m in here. Even though can’t see me, I can still feel…and fear!”  

For our older kids, it’s important to “be not afraid!” (in the words of St. John Paul II). Ask for the quick intercession of the Holy Spirit (“Come, Holy Spirit”) before broaching this topic. Asking them, “What do you think abortion might be?” helps you gauge your child’s working knowledge and how to frame the conversation. Be patient with your child’s emotions—they should be distraught at the thought of a parent ending the life of their child. Remind them that we live in a fallen world where there is sin, but that God loves every soul and his mercy is always available. We can pray for families who feel overwhelmed by a pregnancy and do small things to help them. 

Erika Ahern has a great piece at the National Catholic Register with more tips on how to talk to your kids about abortion, and we’ve used several of them. It’s always an ongoing conversation, and we need to give our children resources, such as Live Action or the Catechism (paragraphs 2258 onward) so they can continue to research and know where to go for more answers. 

Our witness of service is also something so important. One of the best dads we know prays outside of an abortion clinic every Saturday morning, rain or shine. He has started bringing along his older children to that they can also intercede and witness what it looks like to peacefully stand for life. We try to regularly donate diapers and other baby supplies to crisis pregnancy centers in our areas, taking our kids along to show them how they can physically make a difference. 

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Talking with our children about the reality of abortion and other pro-life issues is both important and delicate. #catholicmom

Now that we’re in a post-Roe America, it can be tempting to think that momentum is with the pro-life cause and we can rest our efforts. But we know that our work here on earth will never be over, and certainly not in the fight to respect human life. National work is important, but so is the local, neighborhood-level efforts of prayer, material and emotional support, and walking with those in crisis pregnancies so that they understand there is a tangible way for them to choose life for their children.

Copyright 2023 Jackie and Bobby Angel
Images: (top) Canva; others courtesy of Ascension Press, all rights reserved.

About the authors:

Jackie Angel is a full-time traveling speaker, singer/songwriter, and worship leader. In 2006, she became an artist with Oregon Catholic Press, with whom she has released two albums. Bobby Angel worked for eight years as a campus minister and teacher at an all-boys school. They have spoken and written on Catholic marriage, discernment, and Theology of the Body, and are regular video contributors on Ascension Presents. They currently live in Dallas, Texas, with their four children.