The Republican candidate for the United States presidency issued a position statement regarding abortion April 8, 2024. Against that backdrop, The Danbury Institute conveys the following statement regarding the sanctity of life.
For many years, Roe v. Wade was a roadblock standing in the way of legal progress in protecting the sanctity of life in America. The overturning of this precedent is due to President Donald Trump’s appointment of justices to the Supreme Court who honored both the right of the people to determine the laws governing their states and nation and the foundational right to life. With this, the United States took a major step forward toward ending an atrocity that has taken the lives of more than 63 million human beings since 1973.
The Danbury Institute, along with many right-to-life-affirming Americans, expresses deep gratitude for the work the Trump administration did in making possible the overturning of Roe v. Wade and returning decisions on this critical issue to the people, as stated in the Court’s Dobbs decision. That victory stands as a pivotal moment in our nation’s history and deserves to be lauded without caveat.
The way forward is now to be determined.
The Danbury Institute applauds the former president and his reelection campaign team for willingness to speak affirmatively of the sanctity of life and the value of family. His opponent has said in no uncertain terms that a second Biden administration will make legalized abortion nationwide a top priority. The catastrophic effect of that intention cannot be overstated.
Yet, simply affirming the value of life will not suffice. Millions of evangelical voters have supported President Trump thus far because of his unapologetic support for pre-born life. Those voters are eager to support him again, but they are looking for conviction, not compromise. Many, as values-based voters, seek a leader who will appeal not to the heart, which Christians believe to be a faulty guide (Jer. 17:9), but to truth. So long as policy surrounding life is centered around truth rather than what is politically expedient or pragmatic, millions of evangelicals will likely be inclined to continue supporting the only candidate for the 2024 presidency who verbally affirms the value of life.
The Danbury Institute urges pro-life policy be shaped by the truth that:
every life is valuable from the moment of fertilization (Ps. 139:13-16).
abortion is never medically necessary to save the life of a mother (though early inducement resulting in the loss of a baby may be).
aborting an innocent child conceived in rape or incest only compounds the injustice and pain caused by the initial crime, and that;
at the most foundational level, all life should be protected by existing laws in the United States in regard to loss of life.
Millions of Americans are eager to support plans, policies, and even politicians who share their conviction that all life is valuable and worthy of protection – a truth based in both biological reality confirmed by science and, for many, deeply held religious beliefs. Consistency is a just aim. The just answer to the Holocaust was global affirmation that all humans are intrinsically valuable and equal. The just answer to slavery was, likewise, national affirmation that all lives are intrinsically valuable and equal. The outcome of abortion must be that all lives are intrinsically valuable and equal. Equal and consistent treatment of all people, regardless of race, religion, size, location, level of dependency, or degree of development is the only just and virtuous way forward.
We applaud President Trump where he has been an ally to these values and urge him and his team to hold fast to the strong commitment to life that has garnered for him widespread support since 2016.
Choosing to murder an innocent person in order to possibly save another person, is not the same as killing one person in order to prevent them from murdering someone else, and it is also not the same as one person voluntarily sacrificing their own life to try to save another person.
What is the medical evidence basis for your statement thtat abortion is never medically necessary to save the life of a mother? Consider, for example, an ectopic pregnancy.