Students of religion often characterize the Hindu principle of karma and the Christian principle of grace as opposites, but this is not strictly the case. And both can serve as compatible motivations for the pro-life cause.

Consider karma, a type of retributive justice. The notion of retributive justice is found in all civilizations. It appears in a negative form from the ancient “eye for an eye” to modern imprisonment as punishment for crimes. It appears in positive form when, for example, tribesmen award highly prized spoils of battle to their peers who fought most boldly, or when universities award scholarships to students believed to be most meritorious.

Hindus elevate retributive justice to the principle of karma as the spirituality of action evoking reaction: A good deed begets a reward, whereas a bad deed begets a less pleasant consequence.

Westerners might be tempted to scoff at the notion of karma because it is empirically obvious that the wicked often prosper while the godly can pursue virtue seemingly in vain. But for Hindus, who believe that karma spans multiple lifetimes via reincarnation, an apparently unfair situation in the moment may result from deeds committed in past lives; or, on the other hand, it may yet trigger a rectification in future lives. Karma can only be understood or evaluated from the broader perspective.

Last September The Economist, a newsweekly, published “How to Spot a Genius”. The article observes that economically valuable talent—broadly understood as that possessed by problem solvers and innovators capable of “transformative work”—is very unevenly distributed across the population.

Inequities arising from geography or social class mean that such talent is reliably realized among the upper classes, while talent among the poor or otherwise marginalized may go undeveloped or unused by society. But The Economist observes that genius is precious: Though rare, it drives a vastly disproportionate amount of global economic development. Hence the conclusion:

Unlocking such potential [more thoroughly] would speed the discovery of new medicines,                                                                             hasten the green transition and propel AI. The result would be healthier, cleaner and more                                                                           prosperous lives [for all]. Squandered talent is the world’s most neglected engine of progress.

I applaud the insight, and as readers might guess, I ask the next logical question: What about the unborn? The Economist advises society to invest in the education and opportunity of hundreds of poor children, in the hope that one or two might emerge as geniuses of economic development. They’ve done the numbers, so to speak, and it’s worth it. But then shouldn’t we consider whether it’s also worth sparing the unborn, at a few months’ marginal cost over the investment we are already advised to make to raise those children even in poverty?

It’s a karmic argument: Raising the poor with generous education and opportunity is simply good for all of us, and will bear fruit generations down the line. Likewise for the unborn, not all of whom are even destined for poverty! Seeing that the unborn have every opportunity to be born and mature is good not only for them, but for everyone—for lifetimes to come.

As a Christian, however, I can’t stop with a karmic argument. We disciples of Jesus are committed to the doctrine of grace. The literal translation of grace is simply “favor,” but the spiritual principle behind it is that we all depend for our lasting life on the unearned and sometimes unexpected favor of God.

Those more inclined toward karma might scoff: “If God gives unearned favors, where is the justice in that?” But grace is not necessarily opposed to karma, because the Christian notion of grace allows for the possibility that God’s grace makes us the kind of people who then become capable of merit, capable of earning what we otherwise could never have earned on our own. Grace unfolds into more grace, and therefore happy karma, too.

This is the biblical understanding of Mary, the mother of Jesus. In Luke 1:28, God’s angel greets her, “Hail, you who are highly favored,” or “Hail, full of grace!” And in the very next verse, Mary’s reaction reminds us that the angel’s greeting is freighted with meaning. Although they have explained it in different ways, Christians from ancient times have understood this to mean that Jesus imparted to Mary the fullest possible favor, thereby also making it possible for her to earn honor higher than any other created person.

Prolifers can apply the principles of both karma and grace to our cause. Let us protect the unborn because doing so leads to good outcomes for them and for all of us. But let us also extend to the unborn all the benefits of grace, making it possible even for those who might otherwise be deemed “lives unworthy of life” to become truly worthy, before God and mankind.