Facebook Recognizes Preborn Life

Has it ever struck you as strange that when a pregnant woman is injured in an accident, journalists will routinely refer to the condition of her “baby” – but absent such an unfortunate incident, they’re more likely to reference that same child as a “fetus”?

According to a story out this week:

Facebook is now letting parents-to-be list their unborn children on their personal profiles.

Among options that include daughter, son, wife and husband, the “Friends and Family” section under “Edit Profile” now allows the option “Expected: Child.” Parents can add a due date and the baby’s name.

“We’re always testing new features,” a Facebook spokesperson said via e-mail. “Earlier this year, Facebook started providing the option to add an ‘Expected: Child’ as a way for users to more accurately express their identity.”

There is something curious about a culture that increasingly recognizes the innate humanity of preborn life, but whose highest court refuses to acknowledge this truth, even when many people – including Mark Zuckerburg – confirm the reality of it.

By making this policy change to their profile settings, Facebook executives were not intentionally making a pro-life statement, but they’ve inadvertently done just that.

Many abortion-rights advocates would like for us to believe that a preborn baby is nothing more than a blob of tissue. This is an old, tired and disproven argument, of course. Technology is pulling back the curtain and shining a light on the beauty of life.

Big battles often turn on very small things. And while it would be naïve to suggest that this minor development within social media is akin to a game changer, it is not insignificant. That’s because I find it ironic, poignant – and encouraging – that the same social media giant that’s made its mark by displaying the faces of 750 million users is now providing a forum to give a name and face to those whom society has previously considered both nameless and faceless.