Don’t Vote for Trump Just Because You’re Pro-Life

I recently read an article that basically said that our social media use dictates the news we receive. And while some valid points were made, and I definitely see the truth in that claim, it’s not necessarily true for me. The primary reasoning behind the article’s hypothesis is that partisan voters are friends with other voters who share the same beliefs, and “like” pages of news sources that reiterate those beliefs. It’s a good point, but again, not universally true.

For me, my newsfeeds are flooded by both liberal and conservative news sources. I see just as much pro-Trump on my Facebook as I see anti-Trump. Because I grew up in a small, conservative Texan town, and because most of my family is conservative as well, my newsfeeds tend to be pretty balanced between those posts, and the posts of my more liberal friends and peers.

So, I’ve seen my fair share of pro-Trump articles, stories, and testimonies. In fact, an hour after I shared my story of rape and why I wouldn’t be voting for Trump, a conservative family friend shared an article with the description “I’m white, female, Christian, a victim of sexual abuse, and I’m voting for Trump.” I’ve seen posts shared from brave mothers who had to face the decision of whether or not to abort their baby, but because they were pro-life, they went through it, and because of their unique experience, they’re voting for Trump. I’ve even seen an article proclaiming Trump to be the prophesied President, and no, that isn’t a joke. I’ve just about seen it all.

And so, after seeing a scary amount of posts encouraging voters to choose Trump—solely because he claims to be pro-life—I’ve decided I need to say something.

Please, conservative, Christian, friends: Don’t vote for Trump just because you’re pro-life.

I understand that you feel strongly about this issue, and I don’t want to get into a debate about pro-life vs. pro-choice, but if you vote for Trump solely because of this issue, you aren’t really pro-life. You’re simply anti-abortion.

Because if you were pro-life, you would be appalled at the idea of a Trump presidency, because you know that it would mean many of your non-white, non-hetereosexual friends would quite literally be fearing for their own lives.

You would realize that Trump is also pro-capital punishment, calling for the death penalty on people who could very well be innocent.

How far do your pro-life convictions go, I wonder? You want the mother to carry this baby to term, but what if the baby grows up and is gay, and wants to get married? Are you still pro-life for him or her? What if that baby is trans, or black, or Muslim? You still pro-life?

Do you realize that Trump’s foreign policy is some of the most anti-life rhetoric ever spoken by a Presidential nominee? That he has proposed killing the family members of supposed terrorists as means of intimidation. He wants to recall legislation prohibiting torture. And now, what I’m about to say might offend you, but it’s straight from the mouth of your Christian, pro-life Presidential hopeful:

“I would bomb the shit out of them. I would just bomb those suckers… I’d blow up every single inch, there would be nothing left.”

To refresh: This “pro-life” man, who so dearly exhibits the Christian morals you cling to, wants to decimate entire acres, towns, villages, homes, just because they might be near an ISIS camp. Nevermind that children could be in the vicinity, or that aid workers, volunteers, missionaries could be near.

This man is so completely clueless as to the fragile system of foreign policy, that his solution is to just kill anyone near our enemies.

Now, I know you may be reading this and assuming that I’m some liberal atheist, hell-bent on tearing down my Christian peers. But then you’d be wrong. I’m Christian, and my relationship with Jesus Christ is one of the most precious things in my life. Which is why I cannot stand idly by while other Christians claim to see good in a man who is the exact opposite of the love and hope my Christianity teaches.

Basing your vote on one issue isn’t the answer to this less-than-ideal election. And claiming to not be happy about your choice isn’t a good excuse. Because a vote for Trump goes far beyond his claim to stop women from “ripping babies out of their vaginas.” A vote for Trump isn’t a pro-life vote at all. It’s an anti-choice, pro-racism vote. A vote for Trump is literally a vote for a fraudulent, sexual predator. Claiming to be adhering to your pro-life convictions by voting for him isn’t valid.

In fact, my dear, white, Christian, conservative friends and family, contrary to popular opinion, Clinton is not attempting to rip anything out of anywhere. Remember that politicians, and yes, Trump is now acting as a politician, tend to say the things they know their constituents want to hear. No matter if they actually agree with that, or have any plans to make that happen. They want the votes. Trump needs the votes.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a President isn’t the end-all-be-all for legislation–remember those things called checks and balances? If Clinton is elected that doesn’t mean that everyone will start having abortions now, just because. And if Trump is elected, people won’t stop having abortions.

And now you tell me that your pro-life vote for Trump is one of consciousness—that at least you voted for someone who would try and stop abortions. Did you, though? Clinton has said: 

“But for me, it is also not only about a potential life; it is about the other lives involved. And, therefore, I have concluded, after great concern and searching my own mind and heart over many years, that our task should be in this pluralistic, diverse life of ours in this nation that individuals must be entrusted to make this profound decision, because the alternative would be such an intrusion of government authority that it would be very difficult to sustain in our kind of open society. And as some of you’ve heard me discuss before, I think abortion should remain legal, but it needs to be safe and rare.”

To clarify, claiming to be pro-life doesn’t make anyone, especially Trump, a moralistic Saint. And being pro-choice doesn’t make you a baby killer. There is balance, and there should be balance in your vote.

Trump isn’t the moralistic choice—he’s insulting, he’s degrading, racist, he unlawfully avoids taxes. Don’t claim to be voting for morals when you’re voting for a man who uses charity money for his own good. A man who has numerous assault charges against him. A man who doesn’t seem to understand that he has no right to grab any woman, anywhere.

This man isn’t pro-life, this man is pro-desperate for votes.

Trump isn’t pro-life; he is merely anti-abortion. And that alone should not be enough to garner your vote. Because he is anti-abortion, but he’s also anti-humanitarian aid, anti-refugees, anti-empathy. Don’t vote for Trump just because you’re pro-life, because Trump isn’t pro-life at all, and voting for him is voting to end decency in America.