A couple of developments over the last month or two have shaken the foundations of the presidential campaign. First, the Alabama Supreme Court issued its ruling that increased liability for clinics that offer in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments, thereby shutting down access to those treatments. Second, the Arizona Supreme Court outright made abortion illegal in that state.
What happened? Prominent Republicans– including but not limited to Donald Trump– began disavowing these rulings and took public positions supporting IVF and also abortion under certain circumstances. These positions were also adopted quickly within various conservative media.
This is a potentially disastrous situation for Trump and his fellow Republicans. Their opponents— i.e. the socialists and their accomplices within the media– are going after them intensely on these issues. Meanwhile, the supporters of Donald Trump and the GOP can readily see how quick they are to surrender and betray them on issues like abortion and IVF. This overall situation has stalled and perhaps even reversed Trump’s momentum.
People who regard these issues as important grow more disenchanted with their options at the ballot box.
Sarah Shula has written a good article at First Things that discusses the political “crisis” that arose for Republicans in Alabama and the church’s failure to address the issue of IVF. It specifically points to evangelicals who celebrate the new babies created via IVF while ignoring the numerous embryos created and then discarded.
The old saying is that politics is downstream from culture. What we are witnessing is a reflection of the morally corrupt state and the ignorance of the American people.
We need to do better– much better.
This is an issue for the church. The fact is that nowhere within Protestantism have we seen a principled stand against IVF.
Thorny issues . Damned if you do … damned i you don’t.
That’s true, Fred. I have found, however, that when life presents us with a moral conundrum, the best course is to simply do the right thing, and let the chips fall where they may.