pro-life

With about seven weeks to go before the election, Donald Trump has formed a new Pro-Life Coalition headed by Marjorie Dannenfelser, the long-time President of the Susan B. Anthony List, a prominent national pro-life organization. He has now outlined policies on abortion that do, indeed, mirror those of the Republican platform.  So what are we to make of this?  Does this action signal some kind of real commitment to the pro-life cause?  Well, in a word, no. Does it not occur to anyone that perhaps it’s a little suspicious that Trump has taken this action so late in the game? As the polls are tightening and he just needs a few more swing states to topple?

Whenever I say that I am voting for Hillary Clinton in this election I am immediately accused of being pro-abortion.  No matter how much I protest that I am nothing of the kind, still the accusation lingers.  Let me make my stance clear up front here and then introduce an excellent article that every thoughtful pro-life conservative who thinks he or she “has” to vote for Trump should read.

I believe that abortion is the taking of an innocent human life. I understand the deep feelings of revulsion that a pro-life Christian would feel at the thought of pulling the lever next to Clinton’s name in the voting booth.  Believe me, I’ve had my own qualms.

What must be recognized is that there is no pro-life candidate in this election. On the one hand, we have the Democratic platform that enthusiastically endorses abortion without restriction.  On the other, we have the Republican platform that sets out a clear mandate for cultural change, for fathers taking responsibility, for the respect and dignity of all human life, for the banning of abortion after 20 weeks. (That last item surprised me a bit; I thought I would see an outright ban.) But here is what you have to keep in mind:  Donald Trump had absolutely nothing to do with writing that part of the platform.  The platforms for the major parties are written by committees and may or may not reflect the beliefs of the actual candidate.  It has been exhaustively documented that when the “Trump people”dropped in on the platform committee’s meeting at the beginning of convention week, they showed interest in only one section of the platform:  US aid to Ukraine.  They insisted that language that mentioned support with weapons against the depredations of Russia be removed, leaving only generic language.  That’s it.  There is no evidence that Donald Trump has even read the platform.

Now to the article at hand, from the excellent conservative website RedState.  Here is a teaser quotation to get you started.  His language is harsh, but the time has come to do a little straight shooting:

If you believe that Trump has actual pro-life principles or that he will honor any sort of pledge to only appoint pro-life justices, then you have to be one of the most monumental suckers who has ever lived. I really and truly mean that.

​“The Professional Pro-Life Movement Has a Lot in Common with Donald Trump”

Read this book!

Too Dumb to Fail:  How the GOP Betrayed the Reagan Revolution to Win Elections (And How It Can Reclaim Its Conservative Roots) and/or How the GOP Went from the Party of Reagan to the Party of Trump by Matt K. Lewis, Hachette Books, 2016.  Visit the author’s website (and access a great selection of podcasts) at MattKLewis.com.

How pleased I am to see the level of engagement shown by some readers of these posts!  So I want to address for today the whole “how can you say you’re voting for Hillary Clinton and at the same time say you’re against abortion” controversy by putting up four articles by George Will, a passionate pro-life conservative with impeccable credentials who has left the Republican party, strongly condemned Trump, and said that conservatives need to just grit their teeth, get through the next four years of a Clinton presidency, and then nominate someone decent. (Sound familiar?  He’s the one who solidified the whole election issue for me.)  He has not specifically said he would vote for Clinton, but he clearly says that she’s more palatable than Trump.