It is one thing to vote Democrat because you believe a woman has a right to an abortion, because you are a Left-leaning progressive, or because you support the Green New Deal. It is another to vote Democrat because you are pro-life. That is a fundamental contradiction in terms. All the more is this the case when you fashion yourself to be a “pro-life evangelical for Biden.” Seriously?
This was an oxymoron right from the beginning when these evangelical leaders announced their support of candidate Biden in 2020. It has become a terrible embarrassment ever since, as Biden has become one of the most aggressively pro-abortion presidents in our nation’s history.
The only surprise was when these leaders, some of whom are highly respected as pastors, authors and professors, expressed their surprise and disappointment when President Biden began to do exactly what he said he would do as a candidate, namely, everything he could to support and uphold abortion.
That’s why, in September 2021, I asked these leaders, “At the risk of pummeling an already, very dead horse, allow me to ask you once again: so, how is your pro-life vote for Joe Biden looking right now?”
I continued, “During the elections, I strongly challenged your rationale in casting a ‘pro-life’ vote for a strongly, pro-abortion candidate. And I was incredulous when you expressed shock and disappointment when President Biden lived up to his promises and strongly reiterated his pro-abortion sentiments, asking this on February 1, 2021: ‘Did you not see the radical, destructive, anti-Christian policy decisions he would make?’”
How could anyone not see what Biden, if elected, would do? He even promised that, if Roe was overturned, he would do his best to make Roe federal law. To this moment, he still wants that to happen.
That’s why I wrote in March 2021, “To be totally candid, it was hard for me to believe the headline was real. ‘Pro-life Evangelicals for Biden: “We feel used and betrayed.”’
Seriously? They ‘feel used and betrayed’ because the pro-abortion president they helped put in office did exactly what he said he would do? They ‘feel used and betrayed’ because he carried out his campaign promises? They ‘feel used and betrayed’ because he stayed true to the Democratic platform?
I could understand feeling embarrassed and ashamed and humiliated at their extreme naivety. But ‘used and betrayed’?”
I wonder how these leaders are feeling in the aftermath of the Court’s overturning of Roe, as President Biden has declared war on the pro-life movement and made clear that he will do whatever he can to give women across America access to abortion.
These evangelical Democrats said former President Trump demonstrated unchristian behavior, yet he proved to be a pro-life president of historical merit, appointing the three justices who made the overturning of Roe a reality and the only sitting president to speak at the annual March for Life.
In massive, extremely stark contrast, on July 8, the official White House website announced that, “President Biden has made clear that the only way to secure a woman’s right to choose is for Congress to restore the protections of Roe as federal law. Until then, he has committed to doing everything in his power to defend reproductive rights and protect access to safe and legal abortion.”
How does that comport with being a pro-life evangelical for Biden?
The statement continued, “Today, President Biden will sign an Executive Order Protecting Access to Reproductive Health Care Services. This Executive Order builds on the actions his Administration has already taken to defend reproductive rights by:
- Safeguarding access to reproductive health care services, including abortion and contraception;
- Protecting the privacy of patients and their access to accurate information;
- Promoting the safety and security of patients, providers, and clinics; and
- Coordinating the implementation of Federal efforts to protect reproductive rights and access to health care.”
Could you imagine anything less “pro-life” from the president’s office? This is a declaration of war against the unborn.
This is why so many evangelicals chose to vote for Trump, despite their misgivings. Abortion was a major issue for them – really, a life and death issue – and Trump was as clearly pro-life as Biden was pro-abortion. The passage of time has only underscored the depth of differences between Trump and Biden when it comes to the removal of babies’ lives in the womb. It is the difference between life and death.
In short, the Joe Biden who sits in the White House is not the same Joe Biden who was elected to the Senate in 1973.
As noted by Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, in 1974, Biden stated that Roe went “too far,” adding, that a woman seeking an abortion should not have the “sole right to say what should happen to her body.” And in 1982, he voted for a “constitutional amendment allowing states to overturn Roe v. Wade.”
And while it is true he opposed Judge Robert Bork in 1987, he still said in 1994 that, “Those of us who are opposed to abortions should not be compelled to pay for them.” (Notice that word “us”!)
He voted three times to ban partial-birth abortion (in 1995, 1999, and 2003) but then in 2007 he criticized the Supreme Court’s rationale in upholding of the ban as “paternalistic.”
He then reversed his stance on the Hyde Amendment in 2019 – in the midst of a live, TV debate – and said in 2020 that he supports abortion “under any circumstance.”
As Donohue concluded, “There is no one in public life who has undergone such a dramatic transformation. He did not change because of the Catholic Church: it did not change its position on abortion. He did not change because of science: it did not change its position on when life begins. It was Biden who changed, and he did so for totally political reasons.”
And this is the man that these “pro-life evangelicals for Biden” helped put into office, the man who has now issued the most militant, pro-abortion executive order in our nation’s history.
As I have said repeatedly, it would have been one thing if these leaders had said, “Before God, we cannot vote for Donald Trump, as we see him doing him more harm than good. Therefore, with reluctance, we are voting for Joe Biden.” (Or, “Therefore, we are not casting a vote for president.”)
But it is another thing entirely when, as leaders in the Body of Christ with a reputation for morality and godliness, you cast a vote for a pro-abortion candidate in the name of pro-life.
Little wonder that, 10 months ago, it was reported that, “Within months of that open letter [saying that they felt ‘used and betrayed’] ‘Pro-life Evangelicals for Biden’ died as surely as the babies sucked out of the womb.
“All their social media was deleted and their website was taken down. Everything is defunct. https://www.prolifeevangelicalsforbiden.com/ was no more, replaced with a sad testament to their great shame. They didn’t even last a year.
“None of the founding signees have spoken publicly about the implosion of their organization, or repented of their naivety and stupidity, as far as we can tell.”
Now would be a great time to hear from some of these leaders, in humility and contrition. My brothers and sisters, what do you have to say?
Dr. Michael Brown (www.askdrbrown.org) is the host of the nationally syndicated Line of Fire radio program. He holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Languages and Literatures from New York University and has served as a professor at a number of seminaries and is the author of 40 books. Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.