A Single-Issue

A pro-life friend recently mentioned that she was voting for Obama in spite of his pro-choice stance because she wasn’t just a single-issue voter.

My first thought upon hearing this was to defend my support for McCain by explaining that Obama’s pro-abortion stance would affect so many other areas. For example, our next president will, most likely, get to make a couple of Supreme Court appointments and many federal court appointments. Liberal judges that support abortion rights have taken it upon themselves to make laws instead of merely interpreting laws. This is how we ended up with Roe vs. Wade in the first place.

These are also the types of judges who are whittling away at religious freedom. The Alliance Defense Fund, an organization fighting to preserve religious freedom in our country has some startling examples of this infringement on freedom by zealous liberal judges.

But really, deep-down, I am a single-issue voter. While being a pro-life candidate alone won’t earn my vote, being pro-abortion automatically DISQUALIFIES them from my consideration.

John Piper had this to say on the topic:
“No endorsement of any single issue qualifies a person to hold public office. Being pro-life does not make a person a good governor, mayor, or president. But there are numerous single issues that disqualify a person from public office. For example, any candidate who endorsed bribery as a form of government efficiency would be disqualified, no matter what his party or platform was. Or a person who endorsed corporate fraud (say under $50 million) would be disqualified no matter what else he endorsed. Or a person who said that no black people could hold office—on that single issue alone he would be unfit for office. Or a person who said that rape is only a misdemeanor—that single issue would end his political career. These examples could go on and on. Everybody knows a single issue that for them would disqualify a candidate for office.”

For me, that single issue is abortion.

If the tables were turned and Obama was pro-life and McCain pro-abortion, Obama would get my vote even though I disagree with the vast majority of his other positions.

But that is not the case here. Not only is Obama pro-abortion; he is PASSIONATE about his stance. On multiple occasions while serving in the Illinois Senate, he fought the Infant Born Alive Protection Act, which would have prohibited abortionists from discarding live-born infant abortion survivors. This extreme position puts Obama in a league of his own, as not ONE US Senator or Congressman voted against identical federal legislation.

He also promised Planned Parenthood that the first thing he would do when elected president would be to pass the “Freedom of Choice Act” (FOCA).

According to the National Organization of Women, FOCA nullifies:

• Any and all bans on partial-birth abortion
• Informed Consent laws requiring that women receive information on the risks of getting an abortion.
• Parental Notification and Consent laws
• Would require state and federal funding for abortion.

The fact that Obama wants to not only continue the brutal killing of unborn children, but also eliminate all laws that deter this injustice disqualifies him from my support. If abortion isn’t a defining moral issue, what is?

Edmund Burke said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

My prayer is that those who value life would collectively take a stand next week and vote in favor of preserving life. And that we would keep standing for what is true and right, no matter what the outcome.

For one day, good will triumph. In that day, "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." (Rev 21:4)

But until then, hopefully I will have the courage to stand strong and point to the One who will ultimately make all things right.

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Life Issues Institute photo of a baby 8 weeks after conception. Used by permission.

Credit for the other two photo's of Keegan belong to my friend, Aimee.

(Randy Alcorn also had a thought-provoking post on this topic.)