“Hey Sis! Thinking of You!”

That was the message carried through Valletta a few days ago by the Voice for Choice rally: a call to be the “big sister” a woman might need, to stand beside women facing fear, secrecy and difficult pregnancies, and to offer practical and emotional support.

On one thing, at least, we can happily agree.

Hey sis. We are thinking of you too.

We are thinking of the woman staring at two lines on a pregnancy test and wondering how her entire life changed in thirty seconds.

The student thinking; what happens to my future now?

The mother wondering how she can possibly afford another child.

The woman who is frightened, abandoned or desperately wishing somebody would simply say: “I’m here.”

Yes. Be that sister.

But perhaps sisterhood can stretch just a little further. Because there is somebody else in this story. Very small. Very quiet. Very easy to leave off the placard.

The baby.

The September campaign spoke about a community that “refuses to leave anyone behind.”

We rather like that sentence. We would just add or emphasise one word: anyone.

At Life Network, supporting a woman does not mean pretending her child is irrelevant to her situation. It means refusing the tired idea that, somewhere along the way, compassion requires choosing which of the two deserves our support.

Give her help. Give her friendship. Give her practical assistance. Sit beside her when she is terrified. Help with the things that made her believe she had no choice in the first place.

And then stay. Long after the slogans and marches are over.

So yes: Hey Sis. Thinking of you. 

Thinking of your fears.
Thinking of your future.
Thinking of your baby.

And if you need someone beside you, we are here.

For you. For your baby. For both of you.