It never fails… If you talk with a Christian who is planning on voting for Donald Trump, inevitably the topic of abortion will come up. And the reason for this is clear: On a daily basis–often multiple times a day–Trump says things that are so starkly Anti-Jesus that even the most ardent conservative (who grew up believing “Christian” and “republican” were synonyms) can tell that this guy’s words and beliefs and policies are so directly opposite to the beliefs of a Jesus-follower that it seems intentional. He isn’t even trying. Even when he claims to be a Christian, he seems incapable of anything other than an self-aggrandizing, “I’m one of the best Christians” type of statement. He has put these confused “Christians” into a very difficult and awkward position–They have come to deeply believe that they are REQUIRED to vote republican, but to all but the most blindly ignorant, the republican nominee for president is Anti-Everything-Jesus-Stood-For to a disturbingly obvious degree. About everything except for one issue: Abortion. Well, before you go and do something stupid like voting for Trump, hear me out…
“There has to be some form of punishment.” Only for women, I assume…
Now, most of you probably already know that, until fairly recently, Donald Trump referred to himself as “very pro choice.” But there is literally no way someone can run as a republican (and have a chance of winning) without calling himself “pro-life.” So here we are, with a morally repugnant man running for president, but Christians can still rationalize voting for him because of his newly acquired “Pro-Life” moniker. Just under 80% of white evangelicals report that they plan on voting for Trump–A bewildering and depressing number that signals the end of a lot of things… Not the least of which is the end of any value connected to the term “Evangelical.” And when people like myself challenge these folks by naming Trump’s ever expanding list of disqualifying statements, it’s hard to get out of those conversations without them bringing up their “Trump Card” (if you will) of Abortion. Every time it reminds me of when the dog from the movie “Up” sees a squirrel… “Sure, he has said some incredibly racist and sexist things, and his immigration plan is pure evil, and he has called for an increase of torture and even the killing of terrorists’ fam… SQUIRREL!! I mean, ABORTION!!”
But before you cast your vote for a man who is objectively the worst major party candidate for president this country has ever seen (and arguably one of its worst representations of compassion or humanity) just because he’s calling himself “Pro-Life, I have some numbers I’d like to show you. Since 1970, the Center for Disease Control has kept track of the number of reported abortions that have taken place in the United States. This information is taken from the CDC’s report on Morbidity and Mortality… and next to the numbers, you can see how the President’s “Pro-Life” or “Pro-Choice” stance actually affected the numbers of abortions for that period of time…
This took me WAY too long to make. So read it…
I know that’s a lot of information, but please take a look at those numbers (by the way, HERE is the link to Nixon’s comments about abortion for biracial pregnancies). Also, it should be pointed out that in these last four years of Obama’s presidency, indications are that the number of abortions has continued to go down. When we have had presidents who support a woman’s right to choose, the number of abortions have gone way down. During pro-life presidencies, the numbers have gone up or stayed stagnant. If what you want is a president who is going to outlaw abortions even when some underage girl has been raped by her uncle, and the pregnancy is putting her life in danger, there are people you can vote for. But if your goal is fewer and fewer abortions, you should be voting for someone who is actually interested in changes in POLICY that give women better access to affordable healthcare, more access to birth control, and sex education that is more nuanced than “Don’t do it because Jesus.” And that person is NOT Donald Trump. You want fewer abortions? The numbers seem to suggest that you should be voting Democrat.
Shyster.
But then, if you are considering voting for Donald Trump, in all likelihood you are not the sort of person who is particularly interested in “facts” or “numbers.” Still, some of you might look at the timeline I put together, and you might–even for the briefest of seconds–consider the idea that you’ve been shystered by people who told you “Vote for me, because I’m against abortion.” When really, there isn’t a chance in hell that they would ever get rid of abortion… Because abortion is the only reason someone calling themselves a follower of Jesus could EVER consider voting for someone like Trump… A liar and a bigot and a charlatan and a narcissist and a philanderer and a fake Christian who is using people’s religious convictions in order to make a power grab. And even though I doubt this is going to change your mind, I’m going to go ahead and push “publish” anyway.
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