I have read a few commentaries from various pro-life leaders on voting, the role a presidential candidate may play in the future selection of Supreme Court judges and the somewhat veiled suggestions that sometimes one must vote for a candidate even though that person is not truly and totally pro-life because the future of the nation may be affected for generations to come by whoever sits in the White House! This is the same sort of rhetoric that comes forth every single election cycle, but it seems to be much more prevalent during presidential election years.
Some of us, because we are pro-life leaders who do not believe that politics is the end all and be all, recoil at these commentaries because they mix apples and oranges and in the process create confusion. Some spew forth illogical conclusions that have little to do with the pro-life goal of personhood and the foundational requirements that must be in place before we can ever achieve the meaningful victory we seek.
But since there appears to be a heavy emphasis on the selection of future Supreme Court justices during this particular election cycle, I thought it would be nice to remind you of something: The partial birth abortion decision handed down by the current United States Supreme Court will not save a single preborn child’s life. You may not remember this, but the Court actually instructed abortionists on how to continue with the killing by using a different method. They said:
If intact D&E is truly necessary in some circumstances, it appears likely an injection that kills the fetus is an alternative under the Act that allows the doctor to perform the procedure.
The five Catholic Supreme Court justices agreed that injecting the heart of a preborn child in the womb, thus killing that child, was acceptable as an alternative to delivering 80% of the baby and then forcing scissors into that child’s skull—the so-called partial birth abortion.
Now if you think that this sort of macabre recommendation is representative of a pro-life victory, then I cannot help you. But if this cruel, inhumane logic on the part of the current majority of the Supreme Court troubles you, then perhaps you can help me help others see the wisdom in striving for principled people in government rather than evil of a lesser kind.
One of the things we at American Life League did do, in 2006, was publish a voter guide that sets forth the four non-negotiables upon which a pro-life voter should base his or her voting decisions. They are as follows:
- Abortion
Abortion is the intentional killing of a human being before he or she is born. When confronted with abortion laws and policies that advocate abortion, it is "never licit to obey it, or to take part in a propaganda campaign in favor of such a law, or to vote for it" (Evangelium Vitae, Section 73).
The Catholic Church is also crystal clear when it teaches that neither rape nor incest justifies the taking of the life of a totally innocent human being. "In these cases the choice to have an abortion always remains a grave sin" (Letter of Pope John Paul II to Women: 5).
Likewise, the “life of the mother” case never justifies the intentional killing of the preborn child. A physician should do all he can to preserve both lives. (Pope Pius XII, Allocution to Italian Midwives, 10/29/51)
- Euthanasia
Euthanasia is "an action or omission which of itself and by intention causes death, with the purpose of eliminating all suffering" (Evangelium Vitae, Section 65).
The Catholic Church teaches that no person has the right to take his own or anyone else's life. "Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of the handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable," (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section 2277).
- Human embryonic stem cell research
The Catholic Church teaches that human beings must be cherished from the moment of creation to the moment of death. A human embryo must be "defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed if possible, like any other human being" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section 2274).
Because human embryonic stem cell research involves the intentional killing of a human being who is to be respected and treated as a person no reason—no matter how lofty and promising—makes this practice acceptable ("Instruction on Respect for Human Life in Its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation," 1987).
- Human cloning
Human cloning is a grave modern evil that threatens to radically transform human procreation into human manufacturing. Human cloning is an offense against God's design because it separates love from procreation (Pontifical Academy for Life, Notes on Cloning, 3).
You can find the entire voting guide on our web site at (Read).
This particular political season can become either an opportunity for more of the same old, same old or it can be a golden opportunity for reevaluation, commitment and resolve. That is, of course, up to each person who enters the voting booth this November. But it would do each of us a world of good to pray, fast and reflect before we cast the first vote so that we are absolutely certain that we are doing the very best thing possible for the babies.
Hopefully our voting guide, and our united prayers for doing the will of God, will accomplish that and a whole lot more. God bless you!