{"id":2336452,"date":"2024-09-04T09:07:55","date_gmt":"2024-09-04T13:07:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/voting-for-trump-is-the-clear-moral-choice-for-pro-lifers\/"},"modified":"2024-09-04T09:17:49","modified_gmt":"2024-09-04T13:17:49","slug":"voting-for-trump-is-the-clear-moral-choice-for-pro-lifers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/voting-for-trump-is-the-clear-moral-choice-for-pro-lifers\/","title":{"rendered":"Voting For Trump Is The Clear Moral Choice For Pro-Lifers"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fvoting-for-trump-is-the-clear-moral-choice-for-pro-lifers%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2336452&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article\u2062 discusses the implications of recent \u200dcomments by \u2062Donald \u2063Trump and J.D. \u2064Vance regarding abortion, which have upset pro-life voters. It argues that abstaining from \u200cvoting or \u2062voting for\u2064 a third party in response to their statements\u2063 would be politically detrimental and morally misguided. Such \u200bactions inaccurately imply that \u200ba Trump administration would harm the\u200c pro-life cause as much as \u200da Kamala Harris administration would.\u2064 Instead,\u200b the article emphasizes the need for pro-lifers to engage in a prolonged effort to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-gop-establishment-wants-to-take-congress-this-fall-without-telling-voters-why-they-should\/\" title=\"The GOP Establishment Wants To Take Congress This Fall Without Telling Voters Why They Should\">win public support<\/a> for \u2063their position, recognizing that unpopular\u2064 stances cannot simply be legislated into\u200c law without first gaining\u200d cultural and\u2064 intellectual acceptance.<\/p>\n<p>The \u200cauthor highlights how \u2062the left successfully \u200dadvanced issues like\u2064 gay marriage\u2063 by \u200dframing them\u200d in terms of civil rights, a strategy pro-lifers have failed \u2063to replicate. The article notes that recent elections show\u2064 a \u200bbacklash against visible anti-abortion \u2062measures, even\u200b in\u2063 conservative\u200c states, reinforcing the need for pro-lifers to approach the issue with more sensitivity\u2064 to public sentiment.<\/p>\n<p>It suggests that\u2063 pro-lifers must confront the &#8220;lesser of\u2064 two \u200cevils&#8221; dilemma when voting, particularly within the current two-party system. Accepting the pragmatic \u2062nature of \u200cvoting, pro-lifers should recognize\u200b that, despite shortcomings, voting for candidates like Trump may be necessary to prevent more detrimental\u200c policies from a Democratic administration. The \u2062piece concludes by asserting that voters should not view abortion as an isolated issue,\u2064 given the broader implications of political platforms on societal values concerning personal \u2062freedom and self-determination.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Donald Trump and J.D. Vance&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/catholic-priest-lets-biden-know-when-he-can-go-to-confession-after-recent-abortion-comments\/\" title=\"Catholic Priest Lets Biden Know When He Can Go To Confession After Recent Abortion Comments\">recent abortion comments<\/a> have stung pro-life voters, long considered a major pillar of Trump&rsquo;s base. Right on cue, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/americans-remember-the-48th-annual-march-for-life\/\" title=\"Americans remember the 48th annual March for Life\">pro-life activists<\/a> and pundits <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LilaGraceRose\/status\/1828092163516997730\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">quickly<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FeserEdward\/status\/1826320003005907380\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">denounced<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/edwardfeser.blogspot.com\/2024\/08\/trump-has-put-social-conservatives-in.html%23more\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Trump<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/FeserEdward\/status\/1826056824623345914\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">signaled<\/a> their refusal to vote for him.<\/p>\n<p>Responses like these are understandable. Abortion is a grave moral evil, not just according to biblical teaching but also by the standards of natural law. Trump, and especially Vance, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/08\/25\/us\/jd-vance-catholic-church-conversion.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Catholic convert<\/a>, should know better. It&rsquo;s one thing for their campaign to table the abortion fight for another day, recognizing the sad reality that it&rsquo;s political kryptonite. It&rsquo;s another thing entirely to embrace the language and goals of abortion advocates.<\/p>\n<p>But at the same time, the idea of &ldquo;punishing&rdquo; Trump and Vance for their stances either by abstaining or by voting third party is not only morally incorrect but politically suicidal. Not only does it wrongly suggest that a Trump administration would be anywhere near as disastrous for the pro-life cause as a Harris one, but it attributes to the pro-life voting bloc a leverage it <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-selection-of-jd-vance-as-his-running-mate-could-have-significant-consequences-for-ukraine-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Trump&#039;s selection of JD Vance as his running mate could have significant consequences for Ukraine - Washington Examiner\">simply doesn&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t have.<\/p>\n<p>Unpopular positions &mdash; like a national abortion ban &mdash; are not made popular by major parties steamrolling them into legislation. In a representative government, this tactic simply alienates voters. Such positions must be successfully advanced in intellectual and cultural spheres before they can have political viability. It is hardly the fault of Trump or Vance, as disappointing as their recent statements have been, that we have failed to achieve this prerequisite for political viability. <\/p>\n<p>This is a lesson the left understands acutely and by which it has profited in its march through the institutions.&nbsp;Recall that the left paved the way for the legalization of gay marriage using Hollywood, academia, and the media to gradually link gay marriage to civil rights; <em>Obergefell <\/em>generated far less public backlash than <em>Dobbs <\/em>has. To use the euphemism that&rsquo;s become a corny favorite of political consultants, they &ldquo;won hearts and minds.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Of course, pro-lifers would argue they shouldn&rsquo;t have to gradually persuade and that it&rsquo;s acceptable to steamroll in the case of abortion, given what some see as a violation of the 14th Amendment. They may be correct, but unfortunately, being right doesn&rsquo;t always translate into political accomplishments. The battle for hearts and minds must continue &mdash; and so far, pro-lifers are losing it.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But it&rsquo;s worse than that. Not only are pro-lifers losing culturally and politically; they&rsquo;re turning their cause into a radioactive substance that poisons what it touches. Unfortunately, for postlapsarian, spiritual reasons largely connected to the &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/culture\/review-primal-screams-by-mary-eberstadt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">primal screams<\/a>&rdquo; and woundedness of the sexual revolution, strong federal legal protection for the unborn is unpopular. The idea of banning abortion activates a knee-jerk negative reaction, particularly among female voters, that has often proved fatal for the party that champions it.<\/p>\n<p>Just look at the results of the 2022 elections, considered by many to be a referendum on repealing <em>Roe<\/em>. In the wake of <em>Dobbs<\/em>, even red states <a href=\"https:\/\/townhall.com\/columnists\/kurtschlichter\/2024\/08\/28\/dont-let-moral-confusion-make-you-help-kamala-n2643907\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rejected<\/a> most anti-abortion ballot initiatives. By trying to force an end to abortion without convincing voters first, we increase the fervor of those who support it.<\/p>\n<p>How, then, should pro-lifers proceed?<\/p>\n<p>First, they must persist in the humble yeoman&rsquo;s labor of winning hearts and minds. Meanwhile, when it comes to presidential administrations, they must confront the dreaded, unglamorous &ldquo;lesser of two evils&rdquo; question, if they&rsquo;re to hope for eventual victory and not a series of principled losses. This means admitting that one option repealed <em>Roe<\/em> and installed pro-life Supreme Court justices, and the other set up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2024\/aug\/22\/planned-parenthood-bus-outside-dnc-sees-eight-abor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">abortion buses<\/a> at its national convention.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Choosing the lesser of two evils might seem less stirring than protest votes and &ldquo;bucking the system.&rdquo; But, contrary to what many Catholics and evangelicals abandoning Trump are saying, in the context of our two-party system, it actually <em>is<\/em> licit &mdash; perhaps even obligatory &mdash; by Christian standards. A <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CforCatholics\/status\/1826635440285204827\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">video circulating on X<\/a> from popular commentator Father Chad Ripperger articulates this point.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>When faced with a situation where one candidate &ldquo;actually holds stuff that&rsquo;s really evil&rdquo; and the other &ldquo;holds stuff that&rsquo;s also evil but it&rsquo;s not as bad,&rdquo; Ripperger explains, &ldquo;Your obligation is to vote for the lesser of two evils.&rdquo; He continues: &ldquo;When you&rsquo;re voting for a lesser evil, you&rsquo;re not voting for the person&rsquo;s evil or for the evil that the [legislation] is doing. What you&rsquo;re voting to do is to preserve the good that would be lost if the other opponent got in who&rsquo;s more evil or if the legislation got passed and which was actually even worse.&rdquo; He notes that this position &ldquo;has been reiterated throughout the history of the church.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He&rsquo;s correct. It&rsquo;s important to remember that <a href=\"https:\/\/europeanconservative.com\/articles\/essay\/voting-is-not-a-statement\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a vote is not a statement<\/a> of political ideal, nor is it an award for good character. Instead, at least in our national elections, it is merely an expression of pragmatic preference among predetermined options. Insofar as a vote for Trump &ldquo;means&rdquo; anything, it is that his administration would be more desirable, or less undesirable, than a Harris administration, where one of the two is, for all intents and purposes, inevitable.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, there is no way to guarantee that the Republican Party will take the intended message from protest votes or boycotts: that is, that a stronger opposition to abortion will help win coveted independent votes in general elections, which in most cases it probably won&rsquo;t. Instead, everyone will just be stuck with the reality of the winning candidate&rsquo;s administration. And it&rsquo;s hard to believe any pro-lifer would really rather have in the White House a party that promotes, incentivizes, and even rewards abortion, while harrowingly prosecuting those who counsel against it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And let&rsquo;s not forget that, however much Republicans back down from the pro-life cause in the name of pragmatism, their platform as a whole does not favor Democrats&rsquo; worldview, which, in its obsession with sexual &ldquo;liberation,&rdquo; self-creation, and entitlement, makes support for abortion the logical conclusion. Voters should not view abortion as an isolated issue, as grave as it is.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Pro-lifers in euthanasic Europe understand this keenly, and to them, the unwillingness to be realistic comes across, to borrow a term from the left, as privilege. Journalist Rod Dreher wrote about this on X recently, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/roddreher\/status\/1827661965046530540\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sharing a conversation<\/a> he had with a woman he described as a &ldquo;Hungarian pro-life activist&rdquo; who has been fighting for the unborn in a &ldquo;pro-abortion county, a pro-abortion culture, and a pro-abortion continent.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;She could not grasp the political foolishness of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/doj-targets-pro-lifers-again\/\" title=\"DOJ Targets Pro-Lifers Again\">fellow pro-life activists<\/a> on the other side of the ocean who would behave as if there were no meaningful difference between a flawed Donald Trump and Kamala Harris,&rdquo; wrote Dreher.<\/p>\n<p>As Michael Brendan Dougherty recently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/corner\/who-got-used\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">put it<\/a>: &ldquo;When the history of these years is written, the headline will be that <em>Roe<\/em> was reversed, not that the Republican Party&rsquo;s platform was backsliding.&rdquo; He&rsquo;s right, and it&rsquo;s an accomplishment worth celebrating. Let&rsquo;s give Trump the chance to show that his actions speak louder than his words &mdash; the only prudent move in light of his track record on abortion and the chilling alternative.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Nora Kenney is the director of media relations at the Manhattan Institute. She writes about religion, literature, education, social media, and the Midwest. Her work has appeared in City Journal, the Washington Free Beacon, National Review, the American Conservative, Church Life Journal, and the Washington Examiner, among other publications. She has a BA and MA in English Literature from the University of Notre Dame. Sam Wigutow is an editor at Magnificat, and has a BA and MA in Philosophy from the University of Chicago and Catholic U.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Donald Trump and J.D. Vance&#8217;s recent remarks on abortion have upset pro-life voters, who have traditionally been a key part of Trump&#8217;s support base. In response, pro-life activists and commentators swiftly criticized Trump and indicated they would not support him in the future. Such reactions are understandable; abortion is viewed as a serious moral wrong, both from biblical perspectives and natural law principles. Given that Vance is a Catholic convert, he should be particularly aware of this issue. While it may be strategic for their campaign to postpone discussions about abortion due to its political sensitivity, openly adopting the rhetoric and objectives of abortion supporters is another matter entirely.<\/p>\n<p>However, opting to &#8220;punish&#8221; Trump and Vance by abstaining from voting or supporting third-party candidates is not only morally questionable but also politically detrimental. This approach wrongly implies that a Trump administration would be nearly as harmful to the pro-life movement as one led by Kamala Harris while overestimating the influence of pro-life voters.<\/p>\n<p>Unpopular views\u2014such as implementing a national ban on abortion\u2014cannot gain traction simply through major parties pushing them into law; such tactics often alienate voters in a representative democracy. Instead, these ideas need to be cultivated within intellectual and cultural contexts before they can achieve political success. The failure to do so cannot solely be blamed on Trump or Vance despite their disappointing comments.<\/p>\n<p>The left has effectively learned this lesson during its institutional advancement; for instance, it successfully promoted gay marriage by leveraging Hollywood, academia, and media outlets to associate it with civil rights\u2014a strategy that faced less public backlash than recent anti-abortion measures following Dobbs v. Jackson Women&#8217;s Health Organization.<\/p>\n<p>Pro-lifers might argue that gradual persuasion shouldn&#8217;t apply in cases involving what they see as violations of the 14th Amendment regarding abortion rights; while they may have valid points here, being correct does not always lead to political victories. The struggle for public opinion continues\u2014and currently favors those who support abortion rights.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, pro-lifers are not just losing ground culturally and politically; they&#8217;re also making their cause increasingly toxic among potential supporters due to strong federal protections for unborn children being unpopular at present\u2014especially among female voters\u2014which has historically harmed parties advocating such bans.<\/p>\n<p>The results from the 2022 elections serve as evidence: even conservative states rejected most anti-abortion initiatives post-Dobbs because attempts were made without first winning over public sentiment.<\/p>\n<p>So how should pro-lifers move forward? They must continue working diligently at changing hearts and minds while grappling with the unappealing reality of choosing between two flawed candidates if they hope for eventual success rather than repeated principled defeats. This involves recognizing that one candidate has taken steps toward repealing Roe v. Wade while another actively promotes access to abortions at party events.<\/p>\n<p>While voting for the lesser evil might seem less inspiring than casting protest votes or challenging established norms, many Catholics and evangelicals abandoning Trump overlook that within our two-party system this choice can actually align with Christian ethics\u2014it may even become an obligation under certain circumstances according to Father Chad Ripperger&#8217;s commentary circulating online recently.<\/p>\n<p>Ripperger argues when faced with candidates where one embodies significant evils compared with another whose faults are lesser but still present\u2014the moral duty lies in supporting whichever option preserves greater good against worse outcomes likely resulting from electing more extreme opponents or passing harmful legislation instead\u2014a stance echoed throughout church history.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s crucial then not only view votes merely through lenses reflecting ideals nor character assessments but rather pragmatically based upon available choices during national elections where selecting Donald Trump&#8217;s candidacy signifies preferring his administration over Kamala Harris\u2019s which could very well become inevitable otherwise given current dynamics surrounding electoral politics today!<\/p>\n<p>Additionally protesting via boycotts risks miscommunication regarding intended messages about strengthening opposition against abortions potentially leading independent voters away instead leaving everyone stuck facing consequences stemming directly from winning candidate\u2019s policies once elected into office! <\/p>\n<p>Ultimately no rational individual truly desires an administration promoting incentivized abortions alongside punitive measures targeting those advising alternatives either! <\/p>\n<p>Furthermore despite Republican hesitancy towards fully embracing robustly defending life issues\u2014their overall platform remains fundamentally opposed Democratic ideologies fixated upon sexual liberation notions entailing entitlement leading logically towards endorsing abortive practices too!<\/p>\n<p>European advocates fighting similar battles recognize these realities acutely noting unwillingness amongst some American counterparts appears privileged lacking awareness concerning dire situations abroad where activism faces far harsher climates altogether! Journalist Rod Dreher recently shared insights gained conversing Hungarian activists entrenched amidst pervasive cultural acceptance surrounding abortive practices highlighting stark contrasts existing across oceans!<\/p>\n<p>As Michael Brendan Dougherty aptly stated: \u201cWhen history records these years\u2019 events headlines will reflect Roe\u2019s reversal\u2014not merely Republican Party backtracking.\u201d Indeed worth celebrating let us afford Donald Trump opportunity demonstrating actions speak louder than words especially considering past achievements related specifically addressing matters concerning unborn lives alongside chilling alternatives presented otherwise ahead!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3411,"featured_media":2336453,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/President-Trump-Summit-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[9484,40052,37440,40050,40051],"class_list":["post-2336452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-morality","tag-politicalethics","tag-prolife","tag-trump2024","tag-votingchoices"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/President-Trump-Summit-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2336452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3411"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2336452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2336452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2336453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2336452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2336452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2336452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}