The Republican Party and Abortion
Let’s face it. The Republican Party leadership, and quite a few of its rank and file, is not up for the fight against abortion. They may be strongly pro-life in word, but in deed they are fearful and unprepared when any real fight over abortion erupts. At the eleventh hour in the budget showdown, when the moment of truth arrived, Speaker Boehner pulled the amendment that would have de-funded Planned Parenthood, because President Obama and the Democratic leadership were prepared to shut down the government rather than give up that funding. The Republicans had picked a fight but when the Democrats took up the challenge, the Republicans backed down.
In case you don’t know, Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion “corporation” in America. In 2009, Planned Parenthood performed 332,278 abortions, prenatal services to 7,021 women, and only 997 referrals for adoption. Based on these figures, over 97% of its “health services” to pregnant women end up in abortion.
The Republicans had the perfect opportunity to remove Planned Parenthood’s taxpayer funding, but they were not ready for the fight, and the Democrats were. For several days leading up to the eleventh hour showdown, Democratic leaders went public in defense of Planned Parenthood and attacked the Republicans as anti-women, extreme, all of the usual stuff. The Republicans were caught flat-footed and ill prepared.
This episode is yet another reminder of both the absolute commitment of the Democrats to the abortion agenda, and the fear and un-readiness that Republicans have when it really comes down to fighting over abortion. Democrats are willing to go to the mat over abortion, Republicans aren’t, and Democrats seem to know that. The question is, why? Why do the Republicans lack the intestinal fortitude for the fight and why are the Democrats so confident?
What it boils down to is this; abortion is the cornerstone of the liberal social movement that has engulfed this country over the past generation, and those who lead that movement are willing to fight to the death over it. As a result, after 38 years abortion has become a political giant that Democratic politicians are willing to rally behind because they believe this giant is invincible and cannot be defeated in a real showdown. Abortion is their champion, so they champion abortion.
The whole scenario reminds me of the story of David and Goliath. Goliath, the Philistine champion, seems invincible, so the armies of the living God retreat before him in fear. Goliath does not appear invincible to David, however, because David measures Goliath against God, not himself. With child-like faith David runs to the battle, Goliath falls, and the Philistines are routed.
Unlike David, however, many Republicans lack the courage of their convictions. They say abortion kills an unborn child, they speak passionately of the unalienable right to life, but they shrink back in the day of battle. Why, if abortion is the taking of an innocent human life, are Republicans so unwilling to fight this battle? It is a serious question, and it deserves careful consideration.
First, despite professing that a human life begins at conception, many are conflicted deep down inside about whether a developing human being has an absolute right to life which is independent of the mother’s wishes. In our Declaration of Independence, the right to life precedes the pursuit of happiness, and for a good reason, it is the pre-eminent unalienable right without which all others rights are meaningless. Until people settle this question they will never be of much use in the pro-life battle. They might speak up a little bit, but without a firm conviction of the God-given right to life, they will be run over and drowned-out by those who are convinced that the pursuit of happiness trumps the right to life.
Second, even among those who believe that a developing human life that is yet unborn deserves the same legal protection as one that is already born, many lack the conviction that God holds us individually and corporately responsible to establish justice accordingly. They are pro-life in word, but they lack motivation to do much. Abortion is simply one of many issues that catch their attention from time to time, but the urgency and necessity of establishing justice, the very first purpose of our Constitution, is lost on them. In the heat of battle, people like this are prone to allow political compromise and personal calculations to dictate their course of action.
Finally, even those who are willing to fight oftentimes lack the faith and resolve to believe they can win. They may show up on the field of battle, but if the enemy appears to be bigger and badder than they expected, they quickly develop a case of “giantitis.” They are fearful of losing, they are fearful of appearing extreme, they are fearful of their careers, they are fearful of so many things. As a result they lose heart and forfeit the battle without ever fighting it.
We are approaching 40 years, a biblical generation, of abortion on demand in America. The Republican Party claims to be the party of pro-life, but as the recent budget showdown reveals, it is more often words than action. So I ask, “Does the Republican Party believe that a human life begins at conception and that a developing human being has an absolute and unalienable right to life? Does the Republican Party believe that we have a God-given and Constitutional obligation to establish justice and legal protection for such persons? Finally and most importantly, is the Republican Party willing to engage the giant of abortion unrelentingly, with firm reliance upon God to grant the victory?”
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It is amazing! Thanks for your accurate voice!
[...] my friend, Richard Cash, three reasons Republicans give up on fighting against abortion; First, despite professing that a [...]
Richard, with all due respect I think you’re making some bad assumptions and asking questions of the wrong people.
First is the incorrect assumption that the GOP has the biblical moral and ethical foundation to see the problem of abortion for what it really is and its roots. Since the days of the Moral Majority the Christian Right has been trying to bolt on a Christian philosophy of politics onto the utilitarian, Christ-less one that has been the wellspring of the GOP. If what happened with the current budget debacle is like the story of David and Goliath, then a more fitting analogy is that our Christian brethren who want to fight have put on Saul’s armor with the bronze elephant on the breastplate and realize that it is not going to be helpful in the fight.
Instead of asking whether the GOP has the intestinal fortitude for the fight, we should ask why do we Christians who want to make a difference in politics keep asking something of the GOP that it cannot deliver? It’s as though just our association with them can impart our sense of morality, ethics, and justice. Of course the siren song of polytheistic politics (a.k.a. the Big Tent) has led us to believe that we can. Rather than replace the weak foundations of America’s two-party system, we join the party (whether GOP or Democrat) thinking that if we can just get “a seat at the table” we can make a difference. Almost 30 years after the Regan Revolution and a decade after the GOP had control of all three branches of government under G.W. Bush’s administration we still have elective abortion on demand anytime during the pregnancy.
A clear sign that the Christian Right has become politically worldly-minded was the 2008 presidential election cycle. Soon after a groomed Sarah Palin was presented to Christian leaders in the GOP it was revealed that her unmarried teen daughter was pregnant. As the praises for the Palins started pouring in when the family announced that Bristol would choose life for the baby, I felt uneasy about the whole deal. I later wrote:
“After mulling over what I heard repeated in the Christian media I finally realized the cause of my unease; the three-letter “S” word — sin — had been completely absent in the discussion! The non-problem of Bristol Palin expressed itself in the conservative Christian media with a complete lack of discussion by Christian leaders and ministers of the problem of fornication in America and the Gospel remedy!”
“Fornication is the sin that fuels the abortion industry, so it is connected to the pro-life discussion. The Gospel of Jesus Christ stands alone in effectively and holistically healing the individual, familial, and cultural decay caused by fornication. But to date I have not heard one national Christian commentator bring up the subject. Not one politically active conservative Christian leader that I know of framed the non-problem from a Biblical worldview. No one interviewed by the mainstream media admitted that Bristol and Levi committed fornication and that God’s Word clearly condemns premarital sex. I haven’t heard one minister with an open mike on a nationwide talk show say that as loving Christian parents Todd and Sarah Palin’s primary responsibility in the matter is to help their daughter Bristol apply the Gospel – restore the relationship between Bristol and God through confession of the sin of fornication and repentance. It is my hope that this happens. It is my prayer that the Palin family receives wise Biblical counsel in the months ahead because the parents must redemptively help Bristol work through the consequences of her choices.”
“It is clear that conservative Christian leaders and organizations are publicly dealing with Bristol’s pregnancy from the American “conservative” political framework. Sadly, I am convinced that a redemptive discussion on fornication has been trumped by a desire to say nothing that would expose the McCain-Palin campaign to any criticism during the Republican National Convention.”
After Sarah Palin came to Georgia in 2010 to endorse a woman for governor who had been endorsed by the sodomy lobby during her tenure in Fulton County politics, it is becoming clear that Sarah Palin’s politics are an amalgam of feminism, political pragmatism, and Religious Right ethics. Alas she is in many ways representative of today’s Christian Right.
The institutional “pro-life movement” has been under the influence of the national GOP for some time now. The revelation during the 1996 campaign that the Republican National Committee had given National Right to Life $500,000 for helping “pro-life” candidates meant one thing – it was a forgone conclusion that the U.S. Senator from the state that protected the most notorious abortionist at the time was going to get the backing of NRTL-PAC in the presidential election. Nothing has really changed since then.
In light of these things the answers to all of your questions in the last paragraph is “no”. So now I ask you and our fellow patriots the following questions.
Will Christian political partisans continue to play political games by at best regulating the killing of unborn children? Will they continue to work to build a political party that continues to deny the God-given right to life for these children and establish justice for them? Will they be willing to battle even the political party to which they have given their loyalty that by its deeds has aligned itself with and remains committed to the giant of abortion?
I submit to you that if the answer to the last question is “yes” then it is just a matter of time before the giant falls. For if they declare their independence from the two-party duopoly that is supporting the Jezebel system, start building a multi-pronged political movement founded on God’s Word and full reliance upon Christ’s gracious providence, and have a long-term multi-generation vision of victory then the gates of hell shall not prevail.
Well said!! The liberals have something going for them with regards to Abortion that the so called conservatives still do not have. PASSION. Abortion is the cornerstone of the liberal agenda and they will go to their grave defending it. We, the Christian conservatives, must stand up and do what is morally right. Not only will those who support abortion, federally funded or otherwise, be held accountable for their actions but Christians will also be held accountable for our inaction. “The only thing necessary for evil to win is for good people to sit and do nothing. Christians, this country needs revival and to turn back to God. IT STARTS WITH US.
Richard,
Some of what you say is correct. But, not all Republicans voted for what you are talking about. Our state delegation, Trey Gowdy, Jeff Duncan (your former opponent), Tim Scott, Mick Mulvaney and Joe Wilson all voted against the bill. I thank God for these men of principle. I hope everyone who reads this realizes that we have good men running for office in our state and will continue to send them to Washington. We need to send 430 more just like them up there.
God Bless
I’ve had three sons, none of which were planned exactly; but I kept them all and loved them all.
I was one of six children. My mother often told me that she did not want so many children. She provided us with food, shelter and clothing but not love. Verbal abuse was dished out along with the food. We got our spankings for misbehaving and few belt whippings, too. Honestly, I would rather have a spanking over the verbal abuse any day. The verbal abuse and lack of love eats your spirit away.
Back then, 63 years ago, abortions were not handed out like candy. Even though my childhood was rough, I’m glad I got to live. I’m glad my mother did not get an abortion and throw me away because she didn’t want me.
I became an RN. I touched a lot of lives in the 42 years I worked as a nurse. I made a difference to a lot of people. I now have a grandson.
You talk about whether or not life begins at conception. As a nurse I can tell you, it already did. The sperm and ovum are both LIVING cells imbedded with all kinds of knowledge. When they meet, they start to work immediately. That’s life!