The 2024 election is history, and conservative Christians have much cause for rejoicing. Donald Trump was decisively returned to the presidency, winning 312 electoral votes, including all seven battleground states, and 50.2% of the popular vote as of this writing.
Some ask whether the election of a flawed person like Donald Trump can be considered a victory. I respond that both candidates have displayed character flaws in the past, and until Jesus Christ Himself is on the ballot, every election is a choice of evils. However, God may use Trump like He used Cyrus the Great of Persia. God called Cyrus his anointed (Isaiah 45:1) and says He raised Cyrus “up in righteousness” (45:13), not necessarily because Cyrus was personally a righteous man or a believer, but because God used Cyrus’s policies for His purposes.
Besides the election of a president who will thwart the agenda of the far left to make America a secular socialist nation, we also saw Republicans take control of the Senate – with 52, probably 53 (McCormick of Pennsylvania) – while inching toward a majority in the House. The importance of winning the House cannot be overstated; recall how Democrats narrowly took control of the House in 2018 and Speaker Pelosi used the House to thwart Trump’s agenda, twice ramming through an impeachment on ridiculous grounds. House majority requires 218 seats, and as of this writing, Republicans lead with 216 seats to the Democrats’ 207, with 12 seats undecided.
But there is great cause for concern. State referenda on ballot measures relating to the sanctity of life generally favored the pro-abortion cause, although the reasons are difficult to understand. The Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson decision overruling Roe v. Wade (1973) was very reasonable; the majority held (and how can anyone dispute this?) that the Constitution does not contain a right to abortion and therefore the legality and regulation of abortion is left to the states.
This produced a widespread reaction. Some seemed to believe (incorrectly) that the Supreme Court had made abortion illegal, although, of course, the Court did no such thing. Capitalizing on the reaction, the Democrats have placed pro-abortion measures on the ballot, seeking to write protection of this supposed right to abortion into state laws and constitutions. And in most of these state referenda, the pro-life position has not done well:
Arizona and Missouri voters approved a ballot initiative providing a right to abortion up until the viability of the child.
Voters in Colorado, Maryland, Montana, Nevada and New York approved state constitutional amendments to include a right to abortion.
However, the election also produced pro-life victories. South Dakota voters soundly defeated a similar pro-abortion constitutional amendment, with 59% of voters opposing it. Nebraska voters amended their constitution to add a provision prohibiting abortion in the second or third trimester except for medical emergencies; 55% of voters supported it. Floridians also rejected a constitutional amendment enshrining abortion rights, but the news there is not so encouraging: 57% of Florida voters supported the measure; it failed only because it needed 60% to pass.
And one other referendum could be called a pro-life victory, albeit a very narrow one. West Virginia voters approved a constitutional amendment prohibiting medically assisted suicide, but only by 50.5% of the vote.
So we are winning the legal battle, persuading the courts that there is no constitutional right to abortion. But we have not won the battle for the hearts and minds and souls of the American people. Without that, it will be very difficult to pass pro-life protection, and even if states enact laws prohibiting abortion, they will be very difficult to enforce in an era when abortion pills can be ordered online.
The legal battles must continue, but ultimately the war will be won on other fronts. Medical science increasingly provides new evidence that the preborn child is a living person, but medical science is also developing readily available abortion pills. The biblical and medical evidence overwhelmingly support the conclusion that life begins at conception, and the moral and ethical arguments are hard to refute. But increasingly, people say, “I don’t care whether the preborn child is a person or not; I don’t want a baby, so I’m going to kill it.”
The facts of prenatal development are compelling, but many today don’t care about facts or logic. Biblical statements of truth, scientific statements of fact, and moral arguments of right and wrong take second place to feeling and convenience. An important part of winning the battle for the hearts, minds and souls of the American people is convincing them that we care, and they should also.
Two thousand years ago, Greeks and Romans often took unwanted children – the defective, unhealthy, wrong sex, or simply unwanted for any reason – and “exposed” them by placing them out in the wilderness to die. The early Christians made a practice of rescuing “exposed” children and raising them as Christians. This increased their numbers due both to the rescued children who became part of the Christian community and because many Greeks and Romans knew deep inside that exposing children was wrong, and they admired Christians for standing for what was right.
As the early Christians stood against infanticide and got involved personally by rescuing babies, so we must stand against abortion. We must proclaim that every child is wanted, and we must care for families and unwed mothers who believe they have no hope.
By showing that we care and that we are willing to translate our caring spirit into concrete action, we can make this a winnable war!
Colonel Eidsmoe serves as Professor of Constitutional Law for the Oak Brook College of Law & Government Policy (obcl.edu) and as Senior Counsel for the Foundation for Moral Law (morallaw.org). He may be contacted for speaking engagements at eidsmoeja@juno.com.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to Commentary@1819news.com.
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