As we wade through this ever more divisive election cycle, the challenge of who to support has grown particularly acute for conservatives and ProLife Christians. This challenge has been festering for years and will reach far beyond this election cycle. We who are ProLife, who believe in the sanctity of life, are now facing a near impossible dilemma. Those political figures who advocate for protecting fetuses, are the same people who have acted with a callous disregard for the health and well-being of children, teens and adults. While I clearly lack the wisdom of Solomon, below is a path forward that largely aligns with ProLife principles and can pragmatically serve all life from conception through death.
Part of the challenge with Republican candidates is that they have strategically chosen to practice a ProLife agenda more as an election ploy than a broad, wholistic set of policies that protects and builds up life at all ages. When they applauded themselves after nearly rescinding the ACA, which would have taken healthcare away from millions, rescinded the requirement that insurance companies accept those with pre-existing conditions and provided for mental healthcare, they disqualified themselves as being ProLife. As they continue to call for reducing federal funding for public schools, they disqualify themselves being ProLife. When they refuse to pass even the most basic, common-sense gun regulations, they disqualify themselves from being ProLife. And, when Trump, and many of his MAGA enablers, refused to encourage vaccinations and masking during the pandemic that killed and sickened so many, they disqualified themselves as being anything akin to being ProLife.
Meanwhile, many Democratic candidates, who strongly advocate for Pro-Choice policies, seem no better. So, what’s a ProLife conservative to do? I submit, let us be guided by the facts.
Prior to Roe, in 1973 the number of abortions in the US was 616,000. After Roe, the number of abortions peaked at 1,429,000 in 1990. With many concerted efforts to educate young women about preventing pregnancies, many reaching out to women about the life of the unborn child they were carrying, and the development of adoption options for unwanted newborns, the number of abortions declined to 626,000 in 2021. After Dobbs, despite many strict statewide restrictions on abortions, the number of abortions rose to over a million.
This data provides clear evidence that strict limitations on abortions are counter-productive. Adult women often find restrictions on abortion disrespect their ability to consider their options and make a wise choice. Strict restrictions often demonstrate willful ignorance about the complex medical conditions pregnant women often face and the care they need. And, they cast those trying to save the life of an unborn child as callous and insensitive to the painful choices women often have to go through.
In addition, those who have tried to reduce abortions through legislative restrictions have enabled the debate over abortion to flip from a dialogue about the life within a women’s womb to a debate over women’s right to choose. While it may seem counter-intuitive, to return to declining abortion rates, it’s imperative that we let go of some of the legislative wars we’re engaged in, flip the script back to sensitive and caring discussions about what a fetus is, and withdraw support from MAGA Republicans championing this issue over a cliff.
Given the above, I submit that the most constructive path forward for those of us who are ProLife is to accept an adult’s women’s right to choose through early-stage pregnancies, rape, incest and medically necessary conditions, and invest our time, heart and resources in providing the love and care pregnant women may need. Instead of imposing legal hurdles on women already in distress, let us go back to doing the less clear but more fruitful work of winning the hearts and minds of women across our kitchen tables. Let us double down on supporting Crisis Pregnancy Centers, supporting faith-based programs for high school and college students that often reduce the incidence of unintended pregnancies, and encourage and support adoptions and foster care. Simultaneously, let us reject MAGA Republicans that are using this issue for their own selfish gains, and support others with far broader ProLife agendas.
George Zadigian