Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood employee and a pro-life advocate, said the pro-life movement has to stop being reactive. The time has come for action.

“We’re living in this time where people feel like, ‘Oh I’m doing something because I posted something on Facebook,’” she said. “That’s important, but we live in this time of ‘slack-tivism.’ We have to get out from behind our computers and do something.”

Johnson noted that one in three women have had an abortion at some time in their life.

“We’ve got to put our feet on the ground and get our hands and feet dirty in this movement. We’ve got to be pro-life to people and not just say we’re pro-life,” she said.

Johnson said being actively pro-life includes praying outside abortion clinics, volunteering, meeting with the legislature — in short, “getting out from behind the screen.”

“How are we helping that woman and her family who need help? How are we helping this family that needs food on their table? How are we helping the elderly and the poor?” she said. “We need to serve the marginalized. It includes the unborn, but it goes beyond that. We need to get involved. We all need to be activists.”

Many laws passed in Texas have been effective and there has been a 30 percent decrease in the abortion rate in the state. The pro-life movement needs to focus on laws that will not be immediately struck down.

“We will continue to pass legislation that will regulate these clinics and close down the clinics and will ultimately save lives,” Johnson said. “We have to focus on this at a state level. We’re not going to get any help from the federal government at this point.”

O. Carter Snead, a professor of law at the University of Notre Dame, admitted recent court decisions, like Whole Women’s Health v. Hellersedt, and aspects of health care legislation could be discouraging. But he encourages states to continue to pass laws to protect unborn children and assist mothers in need.

“My advice to the pro-life movement is to continue making efforts — legally, politically, culturally, in the public square and with our friends and neighbors,” he said.

“We must all reach out to care for pregnant women in need, as well as those whose lives have been broken by abortion,” Snead added. “And we must bear loving witness to the pro-life movement’s core message of radical hospitality, love and openness to every member of our human family, born and unborn.”