Abortion and the Ballot Box

Hi Josh,

That was an interesting read. I just had a similar discussion with an old friend (who is voting for Obama). He's about my age and was pretty upset at how republicans have failed during these last 8 years, so even though he is pro-life, he said that he was going to give the democrats a try. I don't side with one party or the other, either -- I just try to stay loyal to what's most important. I think the toughest thing with voting is to put aside self and look at it from the perspective of what's best for God's Kingdom -- in other words, to put aside what we want out of the next president in order to provide what's most important to those most in need. Some candidates who are pro-choice are lauded for their other acheivements and good intentions by people who call those really concerned with abortion "one issue voters." I found it really interesting what Alan Keyes pointed out a while back in his column -- he said that an efficient administrator without morals (i.e. value for life) can be most efficient in leading a country to its destruction. I also wondered if we were in 1930's Germany if people would call us "one issue voters" for being against Hitler, in spite of his big plans and talks of peace, because of his ethics -- although then, people didn't even know of the deaths that would occur and today people do know. I imagine we would unfortunately be just as divided as we are today -- as just as several church leaders supported Hitler, many church leaders today support a very insistently pro-choice candidate. Anyway, I think it's awesome that your church provided such valuable advice to its members and attendees in spite of it not being the "popular" thing to do as politics and issues like this can get people to side up pretty heartily.

Thanks!

I'm a fellow Canadian watching from the great white north :)

Your political process is so much more interesting than ours!

I am a pro-life supporter, however while this issue is important, the courts have already ruled against the pro-life camp.

Even your present President Bush has stated that he is pro-life yet abortions are still happening in your country and the courts have not overturned their decision.

So even if Mccain goes on television stating that he is pro-life, there is little that he can do to change it. It may take years or even decades to overturn the Supreme Court decision.

So if I were able to vote, even though I would put this issue into consideration, I would have to really care about what the next president could realistically do to tackle the issues facing our time and country.

In my country we are in a midst of an election campaign, and three of the major parties are for abortion but the Conservative party (similar to the Republican Party) have not done anything about the issue of abortion and do not even want to open up the debate.

Joshua,

Thanks for dropping in. I love Canada and have enjoyed every chance I've had to visit.

Actually the next U.S. president will probably make the very significant decision of nominating several new Supreme Court justices which is the key to overturning Roe v Wade. And the President can also effect federal funding of abortions. But ultimately, our hope is in God changing the hearts of citizens. Regardless of who is elected we should all work to support women facing crisis pregnancies and seek to spread the truth about the injustice of abortion.

Please pray for your neighbors down south!
Joshua Harris

In response to your comments Joshua.

If John Mccain wins the presidency, you cannot guarantee that he would be able to appoint (with the consent of the senate) conservative minded judges to the supreme court.

You cannot guarantee that anything would change in regards to abortion.

With George Bush, he stated clearly in his State of the Union address that he wanted a constitution amendment to define marriage between a man and a woman. But to tell you the truth, I haven't seen any amendment as of today.

Anyway, I like what "cb" posted in response to your John Frame post on Christians and Political Choices.

"...politics requires a heavy dose of realism, and not idealism. Some things cannot be achieved through voting. While we may derive some sense of satisfaction from "voting against evil," politics is about results, not merely making a statement of approval or disapproval. To vote for a candidate with whom you disagree on an issue is not the equivalent of declaring your approval of the issue with which you disagree. I think many Christians fail to recognize this."