Nobody knows who’s gonna win. Polls, projections, studies, reports, and well-paid pundits have plenty of predictions, but nobody knows what’s gonna happen.
We do know a few other things, though. For one, we know that whoever is elected president of the United States may play a major role in reshaping the Supreme Court. As the New York Times said back in June:
The winner of the race for president will inherit a group of justices who frequently split 5 to 4 along ideological lines. That suggests that the next president could have a powerful impact if he gets to replace a justice of the opposing side…
Justice Ginsburg, a stalwart of the court’s liberal bloc, has been treated for pancreatic cancer. Justice Antonin Scalia, the court’s most visible conservative, is 76. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, frequently the swing vote, is 75. And Justice Stephen G. Breyer, like Justice Ginsburg a Democratic appointee, is about to turn 74.
Why does this matter? Well, it was the Supreme Court who used their secret decoder rings to find the magical hidden right to abortion in the Constitution, so it may well be Supreme Court justices who walk back some of the damage done by their predecessors.
Despite the cynical nay-saying of those who claim that presidential candidates use the abortion issue to win votes, we also know that presidents can have an impact on abortion. The cynics pretend that just because a president can’t wave his Gandalf staff around and overturn Roe, he can have no effect on the issue. These people must have never heard of ObamaCare.
And take for instance the many pro-life endeavors undertaken by former President George W. Bush. Besides signing the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, and the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, he also issued an executive order barring the use of federal funds for abortions abroad. In one of his last acts as president, he declared January 18 “National Sanctity of Human Life Day.” It would take a whole blog to tell you about all President G-Dub did to protect life.
From legislation and executive orders to cabinet and Supreme Court appointments, presidents can have a huge impact on the fate of the unborn. And next week, we get to choose our president.
I can’t tell you or anyone how to vote. But if you are reading this, odds are you care about the issue of abortion, and you want to see human rights protected at all stages of development. Maybe there is an annoying hipster with an ironic beard at work who tells you disdainfully that you are a “single-issue voter.” Maybe your second cousin keeps posting on Facebook about how pro-life candidates are not really super-hard-core pro-life enough, so you should refuse to vote in protest or write in Peppermint Patty in protest. Or whatever.
I can’t tell you how to vote. I will only tell you this: actions speak louder than words, but words speak pretty loudly, too. Do your research. How these candidates feel about abortion is not a secret. Who is supporting these candidates with money and public appearances is also not a secret.
The future of the country is in our hands. That famous observation of Alexis de Tocqueville has been echoing in my ears lately – the one about how in a democracy, we get the leaders we deserve. I have been obsessively reading the news, following the polls, watching the debates and speeches – probably just like you. Just like you, I am fearful and hopeful for our future. Just like you, I am tired of looking at Donald Trump’s face.
CLICK LIKE IF YOU’RE PRO-LIFE!
Please do not take anything for granted. Don’t get over-confident or discouraged. And please, for the love of all that is holy, don’t think for a second your vote doesn’t count. Casting your vote is one simple, easy, and 100% free thing you can do for life. You can record “Real Housewives of Pondscum, North Dakota” and watch it later. If you have a headache, have a headache while you vote. If you’ll be late cooking dinner, that’s what Pizza Hut is for. Seriously: this is something you really, really, really need to do. Like, really. Go vote.
I have high hopes about the outcome of this election. But whomever America chooses, we will have chosen what we want, and what we deserve. And whether we as pro-lifers are overjoyed or crestfallen over the results, we will need to continue fighting, without pause, without despair or complacency, to end abortion.
LifeNews.com Note: Kristen Walker is Vice President of New Wave Feminists.This post originally appeared at the Live Action blog and is reprinted with permission.
