Lawmakers in Utah continue to push for a near-total ban on abortion. Despite the supposed separation of church and state in the United States, abortion bans are often supported by arguments from the Christian faith. Many people specifically point to the Bible to support their anti-abortion position, even though if you read it, there is no real issue of abortion to be found there.

As a progressive minister and occasional Bible nerd, I believe that Scripture contains both timeless wisdom and human error. But if we want to use this flawed but irrefutably foundational religious text as inspiration for modern moral laws on family planning, I find it much more useful to look at pregnancy, birth, and parenthood in the Bible. Well, the Bible has a lot to say about that.

And it says again and again: people who want to have and raise children should be supported in doing so, even if they do not meet society’s expectations of parents.

For example, in Luke 1:26-38, the unmarried Mary—a virgin, we learn—is visited by the messenger Gabriel, who tells her that she can conceive a child in an unconventional way. Luke’s Hellenistic audience was well-versed in stories of Zeus, Poseidon, Apollo, and other gods impregnating humans, but stories of the Greek gods’ trysts with humans generally do not involve human consent. In Luke’s gospel, however, God does not simply go and impregnate Mary—although God certainly could. No, God sends the messenger Gabriel to go over the plan with Mary first. Gabriel waits for Mary to say yes, and then, with her consent, the seemingly impossible happens.

This episode brings to mind so many unlikely would-be parents in the Hebrew Bible. Back to Abraham and Sarah, the old, barren couple who, against all odds, wished for a child before their miraculous son Isaac was born.

Then Rebekah and Rachel, both barren, wait to fulfill their dream of parenthood – parenthood that is by no means easy, but is celebrated, supported and desired. (Rachel once says, “Give me children or I die.”)

In the book of Samuel, Hannah, another woman with a “closed womb,” prays to God at the sanctuary of Shiloh to bless her with a child, even though she has tried and waited and nothing has worked. When she finally gives birth, she dedicates the child to God at the sanctuary in gratitude for this miraculous baby.

In the book of Ruth, poor, widowed Naomi ends up partially adopting her former daughter-in-law’s son. This relationship is honored by the community, and Ruth and Naomi are celebrated as mutual mothers.

We need to change the conversation we have in this country about faith and reproductive rights. If we value the Bible as a moral guide, we should not focus on forcing people who don’t want children to have them. Instead, we should support people who want to become parents but don’t believe they can because of economic or biological barriers.

There are so many people in this country who would have children if they thought they could. But the cost of having and raising a child is prohibitive. They can’t afford hospital costs. Or they can’t afford child care. Or insurance. Or fertility treatments. Or banked sperm. Or time off work. Or education costs. The list is endless.

“Choose life” is a quote from the Bible that the pro-life movement has adopted in the past, but it has nothing to do with abortion. It’s a much more general quote about living a good, righteous life by following God.

I want to make life possible for people to have and raise children healthily, in a way that works for them. If someone knows pregnancy isn’t right for their situation, I want to give them the tools to safely terminate the pregnancy. If someone would like to become a parent but has fertility or financial concerns, I want to give them the tools, like access to IVF and childcare, to make their dream come true. I want to improve access to healthcare so low-income pregnant women can safely deliver their babies. And if someone becomes pregnant unintentionally but believes abortion isn’t the right choice for them, I want to give the child better options and resources so they don’t grow up feeling unwanted and helpless.

This is what it should mean to “choose life.” If the resources and energy currently spent preventing abortion were directed toward supporting low-income parents-to-be, infertile parents-to-be, single parents-to-be, or LGBTQ parents-to-be, then we would truly be choosing life.

The Reverend J. Sylvan is senior pastor of the First Unitarian Church SLC.

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