Is abortion a political, religious, or personal issue, and does it matter?
by Charles Young - 9/2010

I found it interesting that the campaign worker who came to my door told me that the abortion issue is a personal or religious issue – not a political issue. He asked me what I considered the main issues facing our country that would influence my vote. The issues he wanted to talk about were jobs, health care, and the economy. He said that based on those issues, Working American is endorsing Joyce Elliot.

AFL-CIO "Working America" campaigns door to door for Joyce Elliot (D) in the Arkansas 2nd congressional district race, and campaigns against Tim Griffin (R)

I asked about Joyce Elliot's stand on abortion. He said he did not really know, and that it did not matter because we need someone to rescue our country by creating more jobs. I reminded him that he had asked me what I considered the most important issues, and the abortion issue is at the top of my list. He explained that his organization is not concerned about the abortion issue, and told me a story that was supposed to convince me to forget that issue. He said that if I was on an airplane, and something happened that the pilot could not fly the plane, I would want someone else to fly the plane and would not ask about his stand on abortion. I explained that I still considered abortion to be a political issue. Then he said that Joyce Elliot has children, so she is probably against abortion. Later I thought more about this conversation:

I do not recall many candidates saying that they personally are for abortion, but I do recall many candidates saying that they do not believe that the government should interfere with a woman's “right to have an abortion.” This argument assumes that a woman actually does have a right to kill her unborn baby. It seems that in the U.S.A. a woman does indeed have a legal right to kill her baby, but that does not make it a moral God-given right. Furthermore, it seems that if the woman cannot pay for an abortion, that she has the right to demand that her insurance company or the government pay for the abortion. So, perhaps it is true that a candidate's personal stand on abortion is not as important as their political stand. Does the candidate want to continue to legally allow unborn children to be killed by abortion, and force insurance companies and tax payers to pay for abortions?

Would the candidate vote for a bill defining when life begins? The Roe vs. Wade decision permitted abortions because at that time there was a question about when life begins. We know much more about that now, so why can't the politicians pass a law that legally answers the question “when does life begin”, and thus when is abortion murder?

There is a flip side to the question of abortion being a personal and religious issue. Some pastors view abortion as a political issue, and therefore believe that the church should be silent about it. So if the abortion issue is not relevant when deciding on which candidate to vote for, and is not relevant in church, then when is it relevant?

I am aware that certain people believe that religious convictions should not influence the way that we vote. It seems to me that these people are really only concerned about Christian religious convictions. Some of the definitions of religion include:

Anyone who devotedly believes in certain issues or causes is religious, but perhaps not necessarily in a church or God way. So everyone's religion (beliefs) influences their votes, and why shouldn't Christians also vote according to their beliefs?

I know that abortion is one of many issues for voters to consider. The reason it is high on my priority list is because I believe that abortion is displeasing to God and prevents our country and our families from receiving the full extent of the blessings of God that He wants to bestow upon us. This is not to say that I believe that reducing the number of abortions will solve all our country's problems, but I do believe that God will honor and bless any country and people that tries to create and live by laws that are based on Biblical and Godly principals.

To any woman who has aborted her baby, or anyone who has advocated for an abortion, God can and wants to forgive you. Jesus died on a cross to pay the full penalty for your sin. The only sin that God cannot forgive, is the sin of unbelief. All you have to do is admit that you are a sinner, and ask God to forgive you of your sins and give you the gift of eternal life. More

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