VOTE FOR LIFE!

By Maureen D. Eha

Several days ago I watched a video produced by Grassroots Films that is posted on the Internet at www.catholicvote.com. The film has no narration; only background music with powerful images and words superimposed on the images. It stirred my heart deeply and reminded me what the most important issue of the upcoming presidential election truly is.  

The video begins: "This November America's future hangs in the balance. �?Many issues are at stake. Some are more important than others. No issue can be ignored, but none are more crucial to the foundation of our country than life and family. The family must be strengthened, not redefined. Human life is paramount and must be protected from conception to natural death."

I agree with the makers of the video that human life is paramount. What could be more important to the Creator of life than preserving this precious gift? Surely He weeps over the more than 40 million unborn children whose lives have been prematurely snuffed out by abortion since the ruling passed down in Roe v. Wade that legalized the heinous practice. Surely their blood cries out for justice, and it is only His mercy that has preserved us thus far from total destruction for this longstanding sin.

As the video states, many important issues are at stake in the election—among them the energy crisis, the banking debacle, taxes, the war in Iraq, immigration reform, and the preservation of the traditional family. But one stands out as having the greatest eternal impact: the issue of life.

When you die, it won't matter much whether you paid $2.00 per gallon for gas or $5.00. It won't matter whether you got a tax rebate in 2009 or a tax increase. If all you are concerned about is issues that affect your comfort here and now, such as gas prices and taxes, you can vote for whomever you believe will give you the best deal.

But when you stand before God on judgment day, will you be able to defend your vote? On that day, whether you supported life or you didn't will matter. It will matter a great deal, and it will matter for eternity.

How can you be certain your vote makes a lasting difference?

By voting for the one candidate who says he believes life begins "at the moment of conception." The one who has publicly declared that he will be "a pro-life president" and that his presidency will have "pro-life policies." The one who may be instrumental in overturning Roe v. Wade by appointing conservative justices to the Supreme Court.

I'm referring, of course, to Republican Sen. John McCain. The Democratic candidate, Sen. Barack Obama, does not uphold the sanctity of human life. He professes to be a Christian, yet his public position on abortion is completely antithetical to that of most evangelicals, who agree that life begins at conception and that abortion is nothing less than a legalized form of murder.

Though Obama says he respects those who hold this view--and claims he personally believes abortion is wrong--his voting record proves he does not support legislation that would limit or eliminate the practice of killing unborn children in our country. In fact, he has stated that one of the first things he will do, if elected president, is sign into law the Freedom of Choice Act, a bill that would nullify every state law regulating abortion, such as any law requiring parental notification for minors, as well as the federal ban on partial birth abortion. 

Which leader would you rather have in the White House—a man who devalues life, or one who defends it?

The Grassroots video concludes with these words: "[Our] great nation was built upon life, faith and family. This election day everything you hold sacred will need your vote. Vote your conscience."

I urge you, this November, to vote your conscience as a God-fearing Christian. Vote to preserve the values on which our country was founded. Vote for a nation that celebrates and protects what God holds dear. Vote for life.