The following is from reprinted from the pamphlet "Should Christians Vote for Pro-abortion (Pro-choice) Candidates in National, State, Or Local Elections?" distributed by the Pro-life Pledge Alliance, 3209 Colusa Highway, Yuba City, CA 95993.  Download Pamphlet

Christians Should Vote Pro-life, Without Compromise

Christians should have no inherent preference for any political party. Our allegiance must be to God, and we should support candidates who uphold Judeo-Christian ethics and traditional family values. For that reason, it is essential that candidates for public office oppose abortion, with integrity, if they are to receive our votes. Pro-life is not the only issue that concerns us, but at this point in our nation's history, no other political matter shares preeminence with the lives of unborn children.

The best hope Christians have to ensure a pro-life plank in party platforms is to convince party leaders that we will not compromise and vote for the "lesser of two evils" in future elections. In ever increasing numbers, Christians are thinking this matter through to its moral core. We would never vote for a candidate in any party who supported the annual killing of 1.5 million three-year-olds—and if unborn children have the same worth in God's eyes, they must have the same worth in our eyes.

Protection for the unborn is not only morally essential but is also politically viable. In the 1994 election, not a single incumbent senator, representative, or governor who was pro-life (Democrat or Republican) lost reelection, and the only freshman Democrat to win a U.S. House seat was pro-life. Did we fail to grasp and honor that divine blessing? Indeed we did. If Christians have no pro-life ticket to vote for in either major party, we should withhold a huge vote or else support an acceptable third party ticket.

The issue under discussion here is, essentially, a holocaust that has claimed over 40 million unborn American lives. Who can doubt that it is our responsibility, as Christians, to confront this unspeakable horror and help convince our fellow citizens that unborn children are as precious as the little ones in our church nurseries. To do so with credibility, we must, at minimum, declare their lives no more negotiable than our freedom to worship and pray.

Reasons for a Pro-Life Pledge

1—No great moral cause, such as the abolition of slavery or abortion, can ever compromise its way to victory.

2—A vote for the lesser of two evils is an admitted vote for evil, and it can lead Christians into a moral quagmire.  Were, for example, both candidates to be members of NAMBLA (North American Man-Boy Love Association), are Christians to compromise and vote for the homosexual who prefers the older boys? Surely not—and is the killing of unborn children a lesser offense? May we never doubt that God rewards the pure in heart. Let us "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. [Ephesians 5:11]."

3—Pro-abortion politicians, by their candidacies alone, must not set the voting standard for Christians. And while it is true that one candidate will win and serve, Christians must not use that premise to justify a vote for abortion rights—any more than a church can justify operating a tavern with the argument that someone on the block will sell liquor and reap the profit if the church refuses to do so.

4—Each pro-abortion victory dims the spotlight on the unborn, gives legitimacy to "choice," and encourages more abortion proponents to run for public office. Christians should have no union with the abortion trade, for "Like a muddied spring or a polluted well is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked [Proverbs 25:26]."

5—A pro-abortion president or governor neutralizes pro-life legislators in his own party because lawmakers are reluctant to confront their party leader with the same vigor they would apply to the opposition party.

6—A vote for a pro-abortion incumbent is a vote for his promotion—perhaps eventually to the U.S. presidency. We should not support an abortion advocate at any level of government. The city councilman for whom we casually vote may campaign later for the state legislature or congress—and win.

7—Christians who help to entrench a pro-abortion candidate in office make it harder for a pro-lifer to win that office in the future. Rather than to support abortion, it is better to lose temporarily to the opposition party. Psalm 94:20-21 inquires of us: "Can a corrupt throne be allied with you, one that brings misery by its decrees? They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death."

8—Voting pro-life without compromise is in obedience to Scripture, and it promotes spiritual growth in both the individual voter and the character of our nation. It sets a proper standard for youth and defends the rightness of biblical absolutes. Said Lincoln, decisively: "If slavery isn't wrong, nothing is wrong." Surely abortion is an equal, if not greater, injustice, for the "The Lord hates hands that shed innocent blood [Proverbs 6:16-17]."

9—If we vote for abortion advocates, we ignore God's abhorrence of lukewarmness. Rev. 3:15-16 proclaims: "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth." In God's eyes, a lukewarm defense for the lives of unborn children is a grave misadventure. Once we truly discover the unborn child, as David did in Psalm 139, we will cast our pro-life votes with conviction and discernment.

10—Withholding one's vote from abortion advocates is not extreme, for virtually every voter in the U.S. would withhold his vote if an issue stirred his heart sufficiently and no political party supported him. Some may find that issue in gun control or hunting rights. Business professionals may find it in regulatory decrees. The clergy may find it in their right to counsel parishioners without fear of malpractice. Whatever our profession, Christians must occupy the unshifting moral ground and vote to protect the most defenseless members of humanity. We must resolve not to let one small drop of unborn children's innocent blood be charged to our voting record. Indeed it is among the least steps we can take to end the wanton killing of our most faultless fellow humans.

Take the Pro-Life Pledge

Print and sign the pledge below

"I pledge never to vote for, support, or endorse any candidate for public office who embraces a pro-abortion (pro-choice) public policy position.

"I take this Pro-life Pledge freely and solemnly, with God as my witness."

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