By Judie Brown
Recalling the William Jefferson Clinton statement that abortion should be “safe and legal, but rare,” we are constantly reminded that when it comes to politics, not much ever changes.
In recent days, many of those striving to have a political effect on our nation have echoed similar statements. Ralph Reed, founder and chairman of the Faith & Freedom Coalition, commented on the Dobbs decision, suggesting it was “a victory for unborn children & all who cherish innocent life. Roe was wrongly decided and never rested well on the American conscience. The abortion issue returns to the state legislatures and the people where it belongs.”
The same sentiment has been expressed by former president Donald Trump among others. In California, Republican candidate for Congress Matt Gunderson has told citizens he is a “pro-choice Republican that believes abortion should be safe, legal and rare.” Gunderson owns a car dealership, which prompted my recollection of an old adage attributed to the political landscape of the 1960s: “Would you buy a used car from this man?”
Finally there is Pennsylvania’s Democrat senator Bob Casey, once touted as pro-life, but who has now crossed that same Rubicon. According to the Seattle Times, he believes that “‘pro-life’ never meant a complete ban on abortion without exception.” The article continues, “After the court’s forthcoming decision had been leaked, Casey supported Democrats’ legislation to keep abortion legal to the Roe v. Wade standard of barring abortion only after viability, around 24 weeks.”
The point is that while we know that every single abortion, whether caused by pill, chemical, or surgical intervention, kills an innocent person, that truth is not recognized by most ordinary citizens and certainly not by politicians. Because of their position of influence, they have chosen not to stand up for the vulnerable. Thus, they betray them for the sake of popularity and political one-upmanship, and so abortion continues to poison the public conscience.
Addressing this matter as it applies to securing our border, Jason Jones wrote words that apply equally if not more so to the innocent preborn and to the vulnerable elderly, scolding faux Catholics in the public square who pander to Biden rather than defend defenseless people. He stated, “It’s hard to think of a more direct betrayal of the vulnerable aside from ‘Catholic’ pro-abortion activism.”
Of course Jones is suggesting that Trump is better than Biden, a point we will set aside because where the babies are concerned, the comparison evaporates. The question is not who will save the most innocents but rather why there isn’t someone with the courage to defend every single one of them.
We are not called by God to play the game of picking and choosing which ones we should protect and which ones will continue to be killed. Clintonianism is not our objective.
Devoted and faithful pro-life people do not play the numbers game, we go for the goal because we dare not leave one innocent or vulnerable person behind. As Saint Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians explains, the Lord is our guide: “About this, I have three times pleaded with the Lord that it might leave me; but he has answered me, ‘My grace is enough for you: for power is at full stretch in weakness.’ It is, then, about my weaknesses that I am happiest of all to boast, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
Finally, take this advice from Father Peter Stravinskas: “Stop snooping into the engine room too often and heed the wise counsel of the Epistle to the Hebrews: ‘Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.’”
Aping Jesus will always be enough!