PRO-LIFE

Can a Christian be Pro-Life and vote for a Pro-Choice candidate?

First, as an employee of a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization I am not permitted by law to tell you how to vote. So, if you hear a minister of ANY church, even a priest or bishop, publicly supporting specific candidates or promoting any one party as “THE Christian vote,” they are breaking the law.

Second, it should be noted that we who are specifically Roman Catholic Christians, can’t just select some teachings to follow and dismiss others simply because “we don’t agree.” Rather, we are called to the arduous process of forming our conscience. This process is, in itself, the teaching of our Church.

Once we have done this work, we are obligated to follow the conclusion of our informed conscience whether it agrees with church teaching or not (CCC Article 6: 1790, 1800). We violate this teaching on conscience by blindly obeying Church law OR by totally ignoring Church teaching if either is done without any sincere discernment.

All this being said, I am permitted to write about certain issues, such as what does Pro-Life actually MEAN? What is it supposed to look like? Sadly, in our ideologically driven culture, civil and substantive dialogue on complex issues such as this one has become quite impossible. So, I’m simply going to quote a few people who got me thinking…

1st quote: Jesus asked “What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later went and did the work. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but he did not go. Which of the two did his father’s will?” (Matt 21:28-32). Historically, abortion rates fall during Democratic administrations.*

2nd quote: Fr. Tom Reese, SJ, NCR, May 29, 2018. “Pro-life advocates should strongly support programs that give women a real choice — increasing the minimum wage, free or affordable day care for working and student moms, free or affordable health care for mothers and their children, parental leave programs, education and job-training programs, income and food supplements, etc. The pro-life movement must support any program that lessens the burden on mothers and their children. No candidate should be allowed to call themselves pro-life if they vote down programs that would help mothers and their children.”

3rd quote: Cardinal Bernardin. “Our moral, political and economic responsibilities do not stop at the moment of birth. Those who defend the right to life of the weakest among us must be equally visible in support of the quality of life of the powerless among us: the old and the young, the hungry and the homeless, the undocumented immigrant and the unemployed worker. Such a quality of life posture translates into specific political and economic positions on tax policy, employment generation, welfare policy, nutrition and feeding programs, and health care. Consistency means we cannot have it both ways. We cannot urge a compassionate society and vigorous public policy to protect the rights of the unborn and then argue that compassion and significant public programs on behalf of the needy undermine the moral fiber of society or are beyond the proper scope of government responsibility.“

As Jesus asks “What do you think?”

* NOTE: According to the CDC abortion rates significantly decline during periods when social support networks are strengthened. For instance, there was a notable 24% drop during the Obama administration, while rates increased by 8% during the Trump years. The pattern suggests that effective pro-life policy might look different than many assume. This brings us back to Jesus’s question: “What do you think?” The answer requires careful consideration of how our faith, conscience, and political choices align with a truly comprehensive understanding of human dignity and life.