Aliens in America: Day 12

Trumping Abortion  

‘As aliens, live in reverent fear’ (1 Pet. 1:17) 

I am grateful for Trump’s Supreme Court appointments (if only Amy Coney Barrett was running for president!), who struck down Roe v. Wade. It remains a triumph for the truth of the human person, come what may.  

Yet this victory for the most vulnerable provoked unintended consequences. Many Americans now mobilize around abortion rights, a much noisier bloc than the few who still stand firm for the lives of prenatal persons. Liberal female activists demand angrily that their ‘right’ to abort a child supersedes the life of that child and seem to be the growing majority voice.   

This should be the time for a focused Republican battle. Sadly, Trump appears to be downplaying his pro-life leadership. Does he still believe a fetus is a person? Is he flip-flopping on the subject to keep the ‘faithful’ from defecting? May be just political expediency.     

Consider this: Trump recently removed the Republican platform’s tenet that ‘an unborn child has a fundamental right to life, which cannot be infringed.’ Well, now it can. Only ‘late-term abortions’ are explicitly opposed by the party. While Vance claims he’d support a national abortion ban (with little power to do so), Trump has happily settled on every state’s freedom to ban or not.  

A Catholic philosopher, Dr. Edward Feser, laments that Trump has turned the Republicans into a second pro-choice party. For those who oppose abortion on Feser's (and I dare say, my) terms of prenatal personhood, Trump’s shift compromises his commitment to the party’s original terms—life is life.

Dr. Feser believes that only a post-Trump reconfiguration of the party will suffice to ensure a more clear position on abortion.

When Florida Gov. Desantis signed a law banning abortion after six weeks, Trump responded: ‘A terrible thing…they made a big mistake.’ A Floridan himself, he waffled on whether or not he would vote to retain Desantis’ law as it comes up for repealing on election day. To his credit, Trump conceded to retain Desantis’ bill after a major pro-life group threatened to drop him.

Those who thought Catholic Melania Trump held sway over her religiously non-affiliated husband on abortion, think again. She just came out as pro-choice in her autobiography. Pray for her ‘coming to’ the law written on her own heart.       

Given America’s dimming interest in the unborn, Trump’s robust defense of them is waning a bit. ‘I think abortion has become much less of an issue. I think it’s actually going to be a very small issue.’ Too late. 

For aliens like me, prenatal personhood matters. It goes beyond the ebbs and flows of popular opinion. It’s about advocating for life at its most fragile. If we’ve no justice there then we’ve no justice at all. We build on a fault line.  

I wonder if any of us still have a pro-life party. To be sure, Trump remains a master of abortion restraint in contrast to Kamala. I am grateful. May he and his party be shored up to defend the most vulnerable.  

 ‘Thank You Jesus for the overturning of murderous Roe v. Wade. Thanks to the justices who did so and to Trump, who fought for their selection. Raise up pro-life advocates in this hour who will renew their fight for the unborn. We must, regardless of who wins this election.’ 

‘Jesus, You are the King, and we are first citizens of Your Kingdom. Would you free us for You in this election season, not to hide but to shine? You’ve always asked nothing less from Your elect whom You have made ‘strangers in a strange land’ (Ex. 2:22). Here we are, a people who don’t know what to do but who look and listen to our King.  

“Father of all holiness, 

guide our hearts to You. 

Keep in the light of Your Truth 

all those You have freed from the darkness of unbelief. 

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son.”’ 

Amen 

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