Consistently Pro-Life

It is election season and that means that there are some people (some Christians) who are making decisions about who they will vote for based on one issue: abortion. They call themselves pro-life because it sounds a lot better than being anti-abortion.

I have nothing against being pro-life. In fact, I do not know anyone who is more "anti-abortion" than I am. I can think of no reason to ever have an abortion. If a life in the womb is sacred- and I believe it is- there are no circumstances that should prevent the birth of the child. If the mother's health is in danger I ask, "Is the mother's health more important than the child's?" If the child were conceived due to rape or incest- two of the most heinous exceptions- I ask, "What is it about that conception which makes this child less valuable?"

I am definitely pro-life and I will go toe-to-toe with anyone on that issue. However, I refuse to make abortion the only issue that decides my vote. There are several reasons for this.

• The pro-life politicians have done nothing to change the laws in this country to eliminate or decrease the number of abortions. In the last 40 years there have been pro-life presidents for 32. In six of the last eight years we have had a pro-life congress and a pro-life president. And yet, there has been no significant (or insignificant) change in abortion law.
• Although abortion is a terrible thing in this country, there are other issues that should be taken into account. Should we focus on abortion only when our nation is losing an unnecessary war? Should we put a priority on abortion when our economy is crumbling? Should abortion be our only issue when our poor are uneducated, untrained and uncared for?
• Our focus on abortion distracts us from the real work of renewing the world and ushering in the Kingdom of God. If we were more effective in evangelism there would be fewer abortions.

I know that this is a difficult situation, but we need to consider all the options before we buy into a political agenda that may be only propaganda. I say that we should be pro-life. But let's begin a movement that is completely and authentically pro-life.