On being “Pro-Life” in a pandemic

What does it mean to be ‘pro-life’ when we’re in the midst of coronavirus and our economy is crashing as we try to contain it? The question has received some attention in recent days, in part because of our President’s obvious eagerness to see the stock-market return to the pre-pandemic days. But the President’s concerns have been bolstered from unlikely sources. Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick rather gamely proposed that grandparents would happily sacrifice themselves to keep the economy afloat. And Rusty Reno of First Things proposed that our current social distancing scheme represents the triumph of Satan. Not to be outdone, Jerry Falwell, Jr. has decided to stand alone among colleges and bring all his students to campus.