Are You a Pro-Life Voter?

It's the most partisan time of the year. We are in the midst of the 2016 presidential election as well as a congressional election. And it's a nasty one. We haven't seen this level of political vitriol and bitterness in years. The Republican field was narrowed from 17 contenders last summer to the presumptive nominee and businessman Donald J Trump. On the Democratic side, former First Lady and Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and dark horse candidate Bernie Sanders fought it out until just a few weeks ago when the former socialist admitted defeat (amidst claims that the Democratic nomination was rigged by the super-delegate system).

The two nominees could not be more different. Trump is a political outsider; Clinton is a long-time member of the Washington establishment. Trump wants to restrict immigration; Clinton wants to open it up. Trump wants lower taxes for the rich; Clinton wants them to be higher. Trump wants to end the Affordable Care Act; Clinton wants to expand it. They can hardly agree on anything. 

And this generally follows for all levels of elections in our country. The Republicans and Democrats are as divided as ever. Whether it's gun control or protecting religious liberty, it is as if they are speaking different languages. Consensus is nowhere in sight. 

But there is one issue that trumps (pun intended) all others. It is more important than the jobs market, more important than foreign policy, and even more important than whether or not the Redskins get to keep their mascot. That issue is abortion. 

Abortion has been legal in the United States with few exceptions since 1973. We've lived with abortion for forty-three years. My generation and my parents' generation have grown up knowing nothing different than abortion-on-demand. This fight against abortion, the fight against injustice, has gone on so long that it is easy for us to make abortion just another partisan issue. 

But it's not. Abortion is the single most important issue facing our country today. 

Just look at the numbers. According to the Gun Violence Archive, in 2015, 12,942 people were killed by guns in the US (that number includes unintentional deaths and suicides). 591,699 people died from cancer. In 2012, at least 1.05 million babies were murdered. Over 56 million children have been butchered in the US alone since Roe v Wade. Not only were they murdered, but their deaths were both without cause and largely preventable. 

If we weren't living in a culture of death, the fact that 3,300 babies are being killed every day would make the headlines of every paper. 

The lack of news coverage does not change the fact that innocent children are dying however. No matter the terminology that the pro-aborts use, choosing to "terminate a pregnancy" really means choosing to kill a child. 

We all have a duty to end the grave moral evil of abortion. Because of our common humanity and the right to life enshrined in our founding documents, we must protect the most innocent in our society. An attack against unborn life is an attack on life everywhere, and we see that in the growing prevalence of euthanasia and assisted suicide. 

We are living in a state of genocide perpetrated against the most innocent of our society. You and I have an obligation to end it.

There is something simple that you and I can do to help end abortion. It's not hard, it doesn't require a lot of your time, and you don't even have to make your beliefs public (although you certainly should engage in pro-life activities that are hard, time-consuming, and public). All you have to do is vote. 

Vote consistently and unwaveringly with your pro-life convictions. If you believe in the simple equation: abortion equals murder, then the subject of abortion needs to be the most important issue you consider when you vote. We cannot in good conscience cast a single vote for any public official who supports or is even neutral on the issue of abortion. Voting for a pro-choice candidate means you are enabling the genocide of abortion and encouraging the culture of death. No matter what their stances are on other issues, pro-abortion candidates are committed to not only maintaining the current abortion industry, but vastly expanding it and removing any restrictions whatsoever. More babies will die. Women will die because of the removed restrictions. 

By electing pro-life candidates, we give a voice to the unborn. We ensure that their interests are represented at every level of government. This is one of the ways that we will end abortion. 

Whenever you vote, you must vote for the most pro-life of the candidates, regardless of the position they are trying to win, whether it be mayor, state legislator, or President of the United States. That may even mean voting for someone who may oppose abortion but with exceptions for any number of circumstances. It may be hard to stomach, but sometimes we must choose the better of two evils in this fight against abortion. 

A candidate's views on taxes, foreign policy or job creation are inconsequential. Even their political party doesn't matter. Until the scourge of abortion is removed from this earth, it is unacceptable to vote in any way but pro-life. 

Let's be frank. The positions of the two presidential nominees for 2016 on the issue of abortion are clear. Hilary Clinton is a radical pro-abort. She gave her first speech as the Democratic nominee in front of Planned Parenthood, pledging her support to defending their interests. Planned Parenthood won't have to worry about any legal repercussions for her entire presidency. The Hyde Amendment will disappear. Taxpayer funds will go straight to abortion clinics (as if they don't already). She will ensure abortion-on-demand for the next twenty years with her Supreme Court nominations. The bench will be packed with unapologetically political justices like Ginsberg. If Clinton is elected, it will be a major setback for the pro-life movement at a time when we are rapidly gaining momentum. 

If you vote for Clinton, you are complicit in the murder of countless innocents. 

If you vote for Clinton, don't you dare call yourself pro-life. 

To be completely honest, I was a little skeptical about Trump's pro-life record at first. As recently as 2000, he was openly pro-choice. Apparently, as he claims because of personal stories, Trump converted to the pro-life cause. Though I was worried about his sincerity, this was enough. Trump is clearly more pro-life than Clinton, and he will nominate conservative justices to the Supreme Court who will give us a chance at finally overturning Roe v Wade.

Once again, in cases such as this, it is morally necessary to vote for the most pro-life candidate. 

My support for Trump was clinched by his recent selection of Mike Pence as his running mate. The former governor of Indiana was immediately condemned by both Clinton and Planned Parenthood. And that's more than enough for me. Any foe of Planned Parenthood is more than likely an ally of the pro-life movement. Pence "personally led the fight to defund Planned Parenthood while serving in the House," as Clinton put it. During his fight against the pro-abortion lobby, Pence said "I long for the day that Roe v Wade is sent to the ash heap of history." This is a man the pro-life movement can rally behind! 

More recently, Pence signed into law HB 1337. It restricts abortions when they are solely based on the gender, race, or the potential defects of the unborn child - like Down Syndrome. Any woman who wants an abortion must get an ultrasound and listen to its heartbeat. Finally, the remains of the unborn child must be respectfully cremated or buried. This law will save lives and save women from indescribable pain. Of course Planned Parenthood instantly filed a lawsuit. 

The Trump-Pence ticket is decidedly pro-life. Hilary Clinton is unabashedly pro-abortion. 

Choosing not to vote means that you don't care. Avoiding the booth on Election Day is as much a pro-abort victory as if you had voted for Clinton. 

The choice is simple. Life or death. Pro-life or pro-abortion. It's up to you in November. 

Let's choose life.