Words matter. Language shapes how we see the world. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the way the pro-choice movement has reframed pregnancy—not as pro-creation, but as co-creation.
The shift might seem subtle, but it carries a major theological and cultural impact. In his newest LifeChat, Roland Warren, President and CEO of Care Net, unpacks what’s behind the shift in language—and why we should be paying attention.
Watch the full LifeChat: The Dangerous Shift from Pro-Creation to Co-Creation
In a 2023 article, a United Church of Christ pastor stated, “We believe God is the source of all life and has caused us to share in the work of creation…the privileges and responsibilities of being part of co-creating means that women have the ability and the wherewithal to make the decision that’s right for them.”
Notice the difference. Pro means for creation; co means creating alongside. A pro-creator understands they are facilitating life that God alone creates. A co-creator assumes agency, authority, and ultimately, the right to alter or end life.
This deceptive shift allows a false sense of ownership over life itself, shaping a worldview that grants humans power God never intended them to have. As believers, we must hold fast to the truth: we are pro-creators, not co-creators—participants in God’s miraculous design, not authors of it.
Words matter because truth matters.
Roland explains that the problem of thinking about pregnancy and childbirth as co-creation is that the co-creator has agency or rights over what they are creating.