National Pro-life Activists Are Intellectually Constipated

By Charity Joy
Originally published 9/1/24 at the Kootenai Journal

It’s time for an honest conversation about the pro-life movement within the Republican party and the abortion-on-demand industry that controls the Democratic party and owns the entire political matrix in which public policy on ‘reproductive rights’ is formed.

While the pro-life movement stands on solid moral ground advocating for the protection of children developing in a mother’s womb, many national pro-life activists are floundering. Since the chief objective of the pro-life movement was the reversal of Roe v. Wade, most activists lack the capacity to craft actionable policy on the state level. Now that they have obtained their chief goal, they have lost the ability to effectively operate within the political dynamics they actively sought for so many years. Ironically, the activists have decided to attack President Trump who paved the way for the pro-life win by appointing three pro-life justices to the U.S. Supreme.

There are many moving parts to forming policy, especially when forming policy that can actually move through the legislative process and become the governing authority. The complexities of our multi-level system of government and separation of powers must be taken into account when advocating political ideals. Otherwise, the efforts are both frustrating and useless. 

We start by recognizing Federal versus State authority. To use language found in the Declaration of Independence, all human life was created and is equal, and our Creator set forth the Laws of Nature and is the Supreme Judge of the world. Based on these principles, the U.S. Constitution lays out very narrow parameters of authority for the federal government which are focused on the common defense of the States and the ease of trade amongst the States. All other governing authority was left directly with the people, who delegated much of their authority to state and local governments for the preservation and prosperity of Life, Liberty, and pursuit of Happiness (namely ownership rights).

When it comes to the protection of the individual human life, the States have been delegated this area of authority. This is clearly evident by State legislatures enacting laws governing murder, manslaughter, assault, battery, rape, child-abuse, and elder-abuse. These laws have set terminology delineating what constitutes life. To get State law to define, and therefore recognize and protect, human life is the crux of the issue surrounding what rights are attached to the developing child while still within a mother’s womb. Given the scientific advancements that have led to the creation of human life outside of a woman’s womb, we are left with even more legal and moral complexities that confound issues relating to pre-born human beings.

The recent demand for a federal abortion ban by prominent pro-life activists is inconsistent with the movement’s 50-year campaign to return the issue to the States. This shows that leaders within the pro-life community do not possess a coherent message and fundamentally misunderstand Federal versus State authority. Nor do they grasp the significant and pervasive psychological abuse that has been waged against the minds of our children for decades. The vast majority of the population under the age of 40 has been conditioned to believe that there is a magical time during the development of a human being that bestows it with life. Nevermind that they cannot tell you what the human being was before this magical and undefined time. 

Again, the central issue surrounding the rights of the developing, pre-born child is the definition of human life, not the ideological and mythical ‘reproductive right’ to stop the development of the child. However, all of today’s national political discourse has been crafted around ‘reproductive rights’ and this language is what resonates quickly and is useful during national political campaigns. To attack the only viable pro-life presidential candidate over his use of the predominant political language while campaigning for office is intellectually constipated, short-sighted, and incredibly stupid. Just because the Democratic party has mastered the political language to disguise the reality of what happens when abortion uses violence to intentionally destroy the physical body of a developing child, doesn’t mean someone using the phrase ‘reproductive rights’ is advocating for abortion-on-demand.

There’s no two ways to slice it, the abortion-on-demand industry dominates the Democratic party. Any pro-life advocate who says President Trump isn’t pro-life enough to get their vote is helping to elect a Democrat with a proud track record of protecting Planned Parenthood, the nation’s number one abortion mill. Don’t forget, the Democratic party is so dedicated to the destruction of preborn children that it hosted an on-site, no-cost abortion clinic at its national convention where it nominated two pro-abortion politicians to its 2024 presidential ticket.

During her time as California Attorney General, Kamala Harris prosecuted officials with the Center for Medical Science who exposed horrific abortion practices at Planned Parenthood, while failing to even investigate, let alone charge, Planned Parenthood for selling human body parts from aborted babies. In fact, the development of the child at the time of the abortion determines the marketability and profitability of the body part. Abortion statistics in California are severely lacking as the California Department of Public Health has not kept track of any data since 1997. However, the Guttmacher Institute, a national reproductive health think tank, estimates over 154,000 abortions were performed in California in 2020.

The Democratic candidate for vice president, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, signed legislation in January 2023 that enshrined a “fundamental right” to abortion, as well as legislation in May 2023 that removed the requirement to try to save the life of a baby born alive. According to the state’s health department, there were 12,175 abortions in Minnesota during 2022. Under Walz’s tenure as governor, the state passed laws that cut funds for pregnancy centers, ended the 24-hour waiting period for abortions, expanded insurance coverage for abortions, and limited the collection of abortion data from providers.

Meanwhile, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom proudly launched a website to facilitate access to abortion in California. “Abortion is legal, safe, and accessible here in California,” stated Newsom. What happened to the Democratic party mantra that abortion should be safe, legal, and rare? The Democratic party not only embraces abortion-on-demand, they encourage it, facilitate it, and fund it.

To the floundering pro-life activists who lack policy initiatives and have shown an inability to craft persuasive arguments, here’s some pointers: 

1. Stop the foolish attack on President Trump; your actions are helping abortion-on-demand Harris.
2. Stop calling for a federal abortion ban; such a ban is incompatible with our system of governance and would give sweeping policing powers to the federal government. Shift focus towards legislation on the state level that defines human life; with distinction between the natural fertilization that occurs within a woman and unnatural fertilization that occurs in a laboratory.
3. Stop using the murder rhetoric. Murder requires a malice intent; many individuals do not know they have been taught an erroneous definition of human life. However, feel free to replace the term abortionist with serial killer.
4. Create a series of engaging educational courses for preK-12 that study the development of a human being in the womb; the process is fascinating and students have an innate desire to learn how things work. 
5. Work with local school administrations (public, private, charter) to implement elective science courses in the study of the developing, preborn human being.
6. Focus on getting legislation passed at the state level that establishes mandatory science courses for both primary and secondary schools on the study of the developing, preborn human being.
7. Focus on getting legislation passed at both the federal and state level that removes all funding and insurance coverage for elective abortions, including Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans Services.
8. Start a fundraising drive or host a fundraising event for your local pregnancy center.
9. Create a national educational campaign to promote the value and beauty of motherhood.
10. Create a national educational campaign to promote the value of men as protectors and providers.

Disclaimer for inquiring minds: This editorial is written by a mother of three daughters who believes life begins at conception and ends at natural death. She believes our society has utterly failed to foster a culture that encourages boys and girls to become men and women who understand the value and importance of their roles as fathers and mothers. This has created catastrophic damage to the family unit upon which a stable and prosperous society is founded.

Charity Joy Clayton is an entrepreneur, business owner, and 32-year resident of Kootenai County, currently holding dual roles as Editor-in-Chief and writer for the Kootenai Journal.