Pastor Walter Moss of the Canton Foursquare Church in Ohio has taken upon himself to educate the African-American community about the dangers of abortion and how it impacts people's lives. The pastor is encouraging other pro-life activists to "speak up, speak out and be visible" in their local communities because this is where it all begins.
"It's important to remember that activism starts at the local level," Pastor Moss said, as reported by Life News. "In order to combat legislation that allows tax-payer funded abortions, we must first elect pro-life city and state representatives."
Pastor Moss' background in the pro-life movement includes serving as a chaplain for 40 Days for Life, an advocate for the National Black Pro-Life Coalition, and a founder of the Pregnancy Support Center in Stark County, Ohio. He credited his mother for his pro-life ministry work, as she was a single mother who attended prayer meetings regularly throughout her pregnancy and "trusted in God with their lives."
"I always had an affinity for unwed mothers," the Ohio pastor said. "I knew I wanted to be involved somehow in the pro-life movement, but I didn't know how or in what way."
After completing his studies at the Jacksonville Theological Seminary, Pastor Moss began working as a prison minister in the U.S. and went on missions in Africa and the Caribbean. But his pro-life advocacy for women and unborn children remained at the center of his calling.
Pastor Moss explained, "God had always placed it on my heart to speak out more strongly about the impact of abortions on the black population."
Pastor Moss began putting into action his personal advocacy when he met a young college student who was struggling with her unplanned pregnancy. The Ohio pastor sought help from the people in Stark County and found the Pregnancy Support Center to help her and other mothers and babies in need of support and encouragement. Pastor Moss and his wife then began speaking at African-American churches to highlight the "devastating impact of abortion" and the need to defend life from its beginnings in the womb.
"The abortion industry is very adept at its messaging to women of color who often grew up believing the myth that a fetus is just a clump of cells or another form of birth control," Pastor Moss said in a conversation with Live Action News. "Worse, they are taught unwanted babies are the 'enemy of women.'"
Pastor Moss lamented that this kind of messaging has been passed on from generation to generation, which is why there has been a "drastic reduction in the black population from abortions."
This misinformation, Pastor Moss says, pushes Black women to abort their unborn children thinking that it's what's best for them.
"So, they go on to terminate their pregnancies, thinking it's the best solution because that's what they've been told. This has to change, and it will take more pro-life advocates in the Black community to speak the truth and help break the cycle of cultural influence and generational misinformation"
Conversely, a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology earlier this year found that "A disproportionate number of women from certain demographics incorrectly believed abortion was illegal in Ohio: those who were younger, of lower socioeconomic status, unmarried or Black," Cincinnati's The Enquirer reported.
The study indicated that between October 2018 and June 2019, the number of women who knew abortion was illegal in Ohio grew from 4.5% to 15.9%. During this same time, lawmakers were fighting to have the unborn kept safe from abortions via the heartbeat bill, which criminalized aborting babies once a fetal heartbeat is detected.
While the heartbeat bill was signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine in 2019, it still hasn't taken effect because it was blocked in the courts. Pro-abortion groups such as Planned Parenthood continue to fight against it, while pro-life organizations such as Ohio Right to Life are fighting to make killing the unborn "unthinkable" in the state.
