Underground abortion networks are emerging out of the shadows, and it is every bit as alarming as it sounds.
Agents of the pro-abortion movement are now driving abortion drugs across state lines in the middle of the night, slipping pills into unmarked envelopes, secretly cultivating herbs to induce abortion and offering undisclosed lodging where at-home abortions can take place away from accountability or oversight.
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These underground efforts reveal more than illegal activity or reckless behavior; they expose a deeper cultural and spiritual battle over life — one that no piece of legislation can resolve on its own.
‘Coordinated attack’
People are going to extreme lengths to aid women in ending their pregnancies, risking not only criminal charges and jail time, but also the physical safety of everyone involved. The culture of death has taken root so deeply that these incidents are not isolated but reflect a coordinated and determined movement to end the lives of the unborn.
Frankly, we should never be surprised that there is a constant drumbeat of darkness and resistance to life. God’s world is ordered for life, flourishing and growth. The aggressive persistence of these underground networks is yet another reminder that humanity goes to great lengths to resist God’s design.
While the pro-life movement can and should pursue meaningful changes through law and policy, this coordinated attack on life shows that legislation alone cannot reach the root of the issue. Legal victories are important, but they are simply not enough.
God’s law serves as a true guardian, but only the gospel transforms the soul. The work of building a pro-life culture begins long before a vote is cast. It begins with discipleship, teaching and faithful formation.
As someone who has served vulnerable women, children and families for more than two decades, I have witnessed firsthand the beauty that unfolds when we cultivate life in those around us, and the devastation that follows when we do not. As president and executive director of Lifeline Children’s Services, I have walked with birth parents, adoptive families, vulnerable mothers and children longing for permanency. I have seen lives restored, families created and hope reborn. This is not theoretical to me; it is the daily work our ministry has been entrusted to carry out.
Moral formation must begin at home and in the church. If believing parents and churches do not courageously teach and model a vision for life, then our culture certainly will never adopt one on its own.
‘Not a political issue’
The reality is that many Bible-believing, Gospel-preaching churches remain quiet on pro-life teaching because it feels “political.” To the contrary, abortion is not a political issue — it is an issue of ethics, theology and human dignity. It speaks to the very character of God and the value He places on every human life. Silence in our homes and churches creates a vacuum that the culture of death is all too eager to fill.
While the pro-life movement can rightly lament the rise of these underground networks, we must also acknowledge that our collective hesitancy to be boldly and unapologetically pro-life creates the very space for these efforts to flourish. Our silence gives permission for deception to masquerade as compassion, giving cover to pro-abortion advocates to promote and rationalize behavior that is, at its core, deeply misguided.
The pro-abortion movement says that these networks are simply helping women in crisis, or that desperation justifies bending the law. But compassion that leads someone into greater harm is not compassion at all. True care does not usher a woman into secrecy, danger and further trauma. Helping someone end a life can never be called mercy.
Scripture reminds us that light does not partner with darkness, and love does not lead a person toward destruction. What many want to call “help,” Scripture calls deception.
These underground abortion networks expose a worldview fiercely opposed to life and reveal that this battle has always gone deeper than the voting booth. Their very existence should serve as a rallying cry to the Church: Now is not the time to shrink back, but instead it is the time to preach the gospel boldly and fully, while not shying away from its implications for life.
‘Divine opportunity’
This cultural moment is a divine opportunity for pastors, leaders and believers to speak more boldly, preach more clearly, and teach a holistic, life-affirming ethic without fear or apology.
This is not a moment for retreat but for redemptive presence. The Church has always been called to enter broken places with courage, conviction, and hope — not to run from the darkness, but to bring the light of Christ into it. The pro-life implications of the gospel must invade our pulpits, our homes, and our neighborhoods.
Beloved, now is the time to reclaim our voice for life. We must call believers to the kind of heart transformation that only the gospel can produce. If the Church becomes boldly and beautifully pro-life, rooted not in politics but in Scripture, then culture truly can be transformed from the inside out.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Herbie Newell, president and executive director of Lifeline Children’s Services.
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