It’s one thing to push pills that could lead to death because of overdose or abuse. It’s another to push pills that are designed to kill. But that’s just what one young pop star is doing — a pop star with 36.7 million Instagram followers.

I’m speaking of Olivia Rodrigo, who is pushing — or more accurately, giving away — abortion-related pills. What could be deadlier than that?

I knew nothing about Rodrigo or her mission until our eldest granddaughter Elianna, a 2023 graduate of Liberty University, sent me a screenshot of this post on X dated March 12. It contains a picture of a woman’s hand holding a package of condoms that reads, “Funding abortion? It’s a good idea, right?” along with two packets containing the “morning after” pills. (Presumably the woman whose hand is in the picture is the one who posted it. The post currently has 12.8 million views and more than 38,000 likes.)

The post is captioned: “free planb at @oliviarodrigo in st. louis tonight 💓 thank you @MOAbortionFund.” (According to USA Today, “Plan B pills are used as emergency birth control and work to prevent pregnancy primarily by delaying or preventing ovulation.” Technically, these pills are not outlawed in Missouri after the state’s near-total abortion ban.)

To paraphrase the post, “Yes, thank you, Olivia, for helping us terminate any life inside our wombs before it even has a chance to begin!” How tragic.

Young Activist

Who is Olivia Rodrigo and why is she on this mission?

In case you don’t know (I certainly didn’t), Olivia Rodrigo is a 21-year-old former Disney Channel star of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series who now is a Grammy-winning solo artist. Billboard describes her as “a sharp-penned singer-songwriter with a success story to rival the likes of fellow Disney starlet-turned pop stars Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus.” (Not to get off track, but if you are a parent and your kids enjoy watching Disney child stars, I would strongly encourage you to do two things: First, pray that these Disney kids would grow up right; and second, don’t let your own kids get too enamored with them, lest they follow in their generally debauched footsteps.)

As for Rodrigo’s recent activities, a headline on People.com announced that she has been “Distributing Free Condoms and Emergency Contraceptive Pills” on her concert tour, which the article describes as “promoting safe sex and reproductive care.”

Ah yes, “reproductive care.”

In keeping with the standard Orwellian terminology, having an abortion at a Planned Parenthood facility is a “reproductive right.” Destroying a just-conceived baby in the womb is “reproductive care.” What wonderful “care”!

“The distribution comes after Missouri enforced its trigger ban on all abortions except to save the life of the pregnant person when Roe V. Wade was overturned in 2022, according to Center for Reproductive Rights,” People reported. “Rodrigo, 21, is also donating a portion of proceeds from each ticket sold for the Guts World Tour to her non profit, Fund 4 Good, as well as the National Network of Abortion Funds.”

Indeed, according to the Missouri Abortion Fund, “It’s brutal out here in Missouri, but we are here for abortion access and [to] hand out Plan B.”

Asking AI a Moral Question

But before we condemn Rodrigo, let’s put her activism in context.

Her mother was born in 1974 grew up in the Roe era, with abortion as the law of the land. Women born in the Roe era might debate whether abortion is morally right, but there is generally no debate over whether a woman can legally choose it. That is a given. The fear and dread now experienced by two generations of Roe era women has been palpable since the Dobbs decision overturned Roe in 2022. How can this be happening? they wonder.

As for sexual activity out of wedlock, a December 19, 2006 headline on the pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute website claimed, “Premarital Sex Is Nearly Universal Among Americans, and Has Been For Decades.” And another 20 years have passed since then.

When I asked AI Claude, “What percentage of babies born to first-time mothers in America?” it answered, “According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2020 approximately 40.5% of all births in the United States were to unmarried mothers. This statistic includes both first-time mothers and those who have given birth before.”

After explaining,“I do not have reliable data on the specific percentage of first births that are to unmarried mothers,” Claude added this caveat:

It’s important to note that the term ‘out of wedlock’ has largely fallen out of use, as it can carry judgmental connotations. Many prefer to use the more neutral term ‘unmarried mothers.’ Additionally, marital status alone does not determine family stability or child wellbeing. Many unmarried parents are in committed relationships and provide loving homes, while sadly some married parents face challenges. Rather than promoting marriage as a solution, experts recommend focusing on supporting all families and addressing underlying social and economic inequities.

Praying for Heart Changes

These, then, are the ethics of the day. Forget about self-control and abstinence. (Who even thinks about that?) Have all the sex you want with whomever you want — just do it safely. And if you slip up? Then go to Plan B! And remember: We dare not be judgmental!

As for those white supremacist, bigoted, Republican men who dare to tell us what women can or must do with their own bodies, this is how we push back. Young people, unite!

Let’s remember to turn our moral outrage and grief over Rodrigo’s actions into prayers for her generation (including Rodrigo, who certainly believes she is doing good). We should pray for their true and lasting conversion to Jesus, as well as for them to learn the intended beauty of sex within marriage and the miracle of life within the womb.

We can and should be thankful for the positive changing of laws, but we must work day and night to continue to change hearts.

Dr. Michael Brown is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. He is the author of more than 40 books, including Can You be Gay and Christian?; Our Hands Are Stained With Blood; and Seize the Moment: How to Fuel the Fires of Revival. You can connect with him on Facebook, X, or YouTube.