This upcoming election will leave an impact lasting three decades or more. The late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s empty seat is casting a long shadow on the 2016 election. On Tuesday, November 8, voters will be deciding the fate of that seat and potentially three more, setting a course for our country for a generation.
More than one million unborn lives are taken each year through abortion; the future of as many as 30 million lives is at stake this election year.
Republican Donald Trump has released a list of judges as examples of who he would consider for the U.S. Supreme Court. The list has been praised by prolife groups and other organizations that believe that judges should follow the rule of law, not write laws. Trump has said his nominees may very well overturn Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion through all nine months of pregnancy.
Democrat Hillary Clinton has promised a litmus test requiring all of her judicial picks to support Roe v. Wade. Clinton supports overturning the Hyde Amendment, and if she succeeds taxpayers will be forced to pay for abortions. Clinton supported the legality of the barbaric partial-birth abortion during the process of birth.
The U.S. Supreme Court continues to have an oversized influence on national politics. For nine people who never face a vote of the public, they have supreme authority on fundamental issues of life and death.
Some legal thinkers and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg have openly suggested that Roe v. Wade didn’t go far enough in promoting abortion, arguing that issues such as requiring tax-funded abortions should be guarantees beyond the realm of voter choice. Other broadly supported laws voters and their representatives have approved—requiring parental consent for an abortion or requiring abortion clinics to offer informed consent to women—could also be wiped away with the pounding of a gavel.
Basic conscience rights of doctors, nurses, and health care facilities will also be endangered. Those who believe in the value of every life have little influence over unelected judges who have a personal animus against those deeply-held beliefs.
The decision voters will make on November 8 could mean the difference between Roe v. Wade being overturned or furthered entrenched for decades, at the cost of tens of millions of lives.
For more information about the presidential candidates and free educational tools you can use, visit www.RTL.org/election.
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Chris Gast
Director of Communication/Education
www.RTL.org
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