The longer I live, the more I realize that it is often the most unplanned of things that can be the most amazing of things.

The recent movie Unplanned is the perfect example of this, a phenomenon sweeping the nation that is nothing short of a miracle.

This story of one woman’s courageous change of heart from Planned Parenthood clinic director to pro-life warrior is a success Hollywood and the media elites never expected. Decade after decade, the media have crushed pro-family films in favor of stories that degrade our culture and devalue human life. Unplanned faced obstacles that might have destroyed any chance of success. Most major networks refused to air its ads. It was given a questionable R rating by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which ironically agrees with the premise of the movie that abortion is indeed violence.

Unsurprisingly, critics gave it a near uniform hostile reception. Hollywood elites bashed it, and operatives with bylines either ignored it or smeared it and everyone associated with it.

Yet, Unplanned inexplicably opened in the top four its opening weekend. It then opened on more than 700+ screens the following weekend. And more the next. It has created a phenomenon in the very social media that tried to silence it. (Looking at you, Twitter.)

Unplanned will not be silenced because it is right, and it comes at the right time.

Right now our nation is at a crossroads. States under the left’s control are considering and even approving laws that allow infanticide – “abortion” up to the moment of birth, and even after birth – for babies born alive after botched abortion procedures. But the blatant disregard for life displayed in New York earlier this year proved to be a catalyst for change. While progressives in New York City lit up the One World Trade Center in pink to celebrate expanding abortion, the rest of America is experiencing an awakening for life. Since the beginning of the year, 250 pro-life bills have been filed in 41 states.

This is the most critical moment for the unborn in America since 1973. This means there has been no more important time for mothers to speak up and defend life. And who is better, who is more qualified, who is closer to the truth about life than mothers?

No one.

And no one bears more responsibility to defend life than mothers. We bring life into this world. We nurture life. We guide our children toward eternal values. We have the future in our hands, playing on our laps, and making messes on our floors.

If you have ever even thought about getting off the sidelines and getting into the fight for life, now is the time. It’s time to become the warrior mom that the next generation (and the generations after that) of Americans needs you to be.

Maybe getting active in culture and politics wasn’t part of your plan. Maybe having a baby wasn’t really part of your plan, either. I know it wasn’t part of mine when I was 18 and found myself facing an incredibly difficult decision. But I decided to honor the life I was responsible for creating, and I worked hard to build a life that offered every opportunity to the precious child I was carrying. A child that would bring me immeasurable joy and pride. A boy who would grow into a man and become Navy SEAL Aaron Carson Vaughn. A hero who would one day make the ultimate sacrifice for this nation, laying down his life for our freedom.

If I knew what pain, what heartbreak I would face on the day I received that phone call telling me the news of my son’s death, would I have made a different choice? No, not on your life. A mother’s journey is never an easy one, but it is the most rewarding journey I’ve ever been on, hands-down.

Our society tries to tell young women they aren’t strong enough or capable enough of handling an unplanned pregnancy and that in order to “have a life” of their own, they have to end the life of their unborn child.

What a lie. What complete and utter lie.

Don’t you believe it. If you are facing an unplanned pregnancy, try to see into the future. Try to see past the torrent of emotions you are experiencing right now, the mixed signals and pressure from those who don’t know your worth or what you are capable of doing or being. Instead, close your eyes and try to see that there is a life growing inside of you: a person, a child, a human, a being created in God’s image that was supposed to live. Life is never an accident. You and I, we are not accidents. And as sure I as I live and breathe, my son Aaron was no accident.

It is not an “it” inside of you. It is a life, a person, a future, a legacy. Your legacy. An amazing, miraculous, beautiful gift that has been given to you, and that you can one day offer to the world. Don’t throw it away. (If you need help or resources, please call 855-801-HOPE or find a list of organizations who can help you here.)

Mothers everywhere, I am speaking straight to you. You can make a difference right where you are, in your community, and across the country.

Choosing to sit on the sidelines is not an option. We have seen the consequences of silence for decades. If we are silent – if we do not speak for these children – who will? The media treat the radical women’s groups on the left as if they represent the rest of us, when they don’t. The media distort the voice of moms and families by promoting the progressive agenda freely on their air time, distorting the truth and creating false images in our culture.

This is our moment. What we choose to do – or not do – today will echo forward for generations. Do not be complicit by your silence. Do not let the media steal your voice any longer. Stand up, speak out for life and for liberty, for the love of your sons and daughters, and for the love of the ones who are killed every single day by abortion.

Karen Vaughn is a Gold Star Mother and the Executive Director of Moms March for America.