I’d like to address the misnomer of “pro-life” ideology.

“Pro-life” should not simply focus on the birth part of life, but the whole lifespan.

It's hypocritical to claim that “all life is precious,” and be OK with caging children at the border.

ACEs (adverse childhood experiences) have proven that childhood trauma makes survivors 12 times more likely to die by suicide, and also puts them at much higher risk for many chronic physical diseases, including substance use disorder, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure — even cancer.

The reason for this is that trauma rewrites your DNA unless appropriate protective factors are put in place to mitigate the effects of childhood trauma.

This policy kills. Not just the five kids who have died in custody, but later in life, when their broken DNA leaves them susceptible to these conditions and outcomes. What about their lives?

It's hypocritical to claim “all life is precious” and then execute a man. That happened this week in Alabama. What about his life?

It's hypocritical to say “all life is precious” and then refuse to pass common-sense gun reforms to protect our children who are having to do active shooter drills like we used to do earthquake drills. What about their lives?

It's hypocritical to claim “all life is precious,” and then vote against expanding Medicaid or vote to overturn the Affordable Care Act, which was designed to ensure all Americans have access to life-saving health and mental health care. (Unfortunately and predictably, the GOP tore that plan to shreds so the law that was finally passed was a disaster from the outset and doomed to fail.)

Why are so many of the same people who claim “all life is precious” the ones who support budget cuts to programs like Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, SNAP, housing subsidies, etc.? What about the lives that depend on those programs?

A person cannot claim they are pro-life and support policies that will cost lives. That is simply the epitome of hypocrisy.

Sister Joan Chittister once said, “I think in many cases, your morality is deeply lacking if all you want is a child born but not a child fed, not a child educated, not a child housed. … That’s not pro-life. That’s pro-birth.”

I couldn’t agree more.