by Robert C. Veil, Jr.
Everyone who has been paying attention to recent political developments in the United
States has had occasion to think about the role abortion has played in the national election. Did it
help one candidate or the other? Is the reversal of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court supported
by most Americans? And what should be the position of a Christian, who is trying to please God
in thought, word and deed in this matter?
For many months leading up the election, we were told that abortion was an important issue
to many voters, that the Dobbs decision which reversed Roe was unpopular, and was going to help
the pro-choice candidate win. Scare tactics were employed on a large scale in an attempt to
convince women, especially young women, that the pro-life candidate was going to enact a
national ban on abortion, without exceptions, and take away women’s “reproductive freedom.”
Poll after poll was cited in an effort to show how important the abortion issue was to voters, and
that inevitably it would help the pro-choice candidate. Did the reversal of Roe heavily influence
the election and help the pro-choice party?
As one who has attempted to show the horrible nature and legacy of Roe v. Wade, I was
personally concerned about the mindset of Americans on this issue—especially when we were
being told that the majority of Americans would vote for the candidate who would restore Roe.
Had the Dobbs decision actually hurt the pro-life cause?
By October, the Associated Press was reporting that “Abortion has passed inflation to
become the top issue in the presidential election for women younger than 30.” Such statements
were typical of many election observers, and were usually followed in the media with the
conclusion that wherever abortion was the primary concern, the pro-choice candidate would win.
Still, I found myself wondering, “Are they overlooking something? What about all the women
who recognize the evils in easy access to abortion, and agree with the Supreme Court that it should
be regulated locally, rather than given a blanket pass on the federal level?”
As it turned out, exit polling indicated that while women of color overwhelmingly voted
pro-choice, a majority of white women voted pro-life, mirroring their electoral choices in 2016
and 2020. It appears that two factors ended up swinging the election against the conventional
wisdom on the abortion issue: 1) The issue of abortion with its theoretical concerns about what
could happen to a woman’s rights, was out-ranked nationally almost 2 to 1 by the issues of the
economy and immigration. That is, as important as the issue of abortion is to many voters, it
typically gave way to actual, bread-and-butter issues of daily life; 2) It turns out that many who
vote primarily on the issue of abortion are pro life—and that they were underestimated by the
press.
Regardless of whether you are happy with the election results, I think all Christians should
take some comfort in the way this went on the abortion issue. The results indicate that most
Americans still see abortion itself as morally wrong. And while there are differences with regard
to the so-called exceptions (which actually account for very few abortions), most Americans
support the need to protect innocent human life.
I have been preaching and teaching for a long time against abortion. I believe the Bible is
clear on this matter, that God regards human life as sacred, and man cannot destroy it to suit his
own convenience. I recognize there may be an exception in a very few cases, where the life of the
mother is genuinely endangered, but the vast majority of abortions performed in the United States
are being done for convenience—and most Americans see the evil in this. It has nothing to do with
a woman’s “reproductive freedom,” but it has everything to do with protecting innocent human
life. Further, having studied the Roe v. Wade decision in depth, it was clearly a monstrosity which
could not endure. It needed to be overturned, and the Dobbs decision which did so was truly a
masterpiece of pure constitutional law.
With the election, our confidence in American women voters was reaffirmed. But there is
still much work to do in helping our people see the ugly realities of abortion.
