Republican presidental candidates are trying to attract Christian voters by serving up a devil’s sandwich.

One part of the sandwich says that in a democracy you have to vote. The other part says that as Christians you can only vote for a candidate that is ‘pro-life’ — narrowly defined as against abortion (because abortion is intrinsically evil). In the middle of the sandwich are candidates like Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich — take your pick. It doesn’t matter that Messrs. Santorum and Gingrich have done little or nothing to reverse Roe v. Wade, or that they have strongly supported an American foreign policy that is itself intrinsically evil.

Yesterday in Washington D.C., LE ran into Senator Jeff Sessions, of Alabama, who was telling students on the steps of the U.S. Capital that he is “pro-life”. We asked the Senator if he saw a contradiction in claiming to be pro-life while at the same time supporting the war-of-choice (in Iraq) that killed over 1 million women and children (according to Mohammed el-Baradei and others)? He said “no”.

Analysis: The pro-life, pro-war, got-to-vote schitzophrenia that is being pushed by secular and religious leaders is undermining religion and society. Abortion is a terrible thing, but many who oppose it have been just as terrible in their support of war and torture in recent years. As a result, the pro-life movement has become easy prey for charlatans seeking political and financial gain. The fact that it has been ineffectual in reversing “Roe” or even restricting abortions might be linked to its inconsistencies. The best hope going forward is for those who really care about ‘life’ to put into practice a coherent and consistent-life-ethic. Which means no more torture or wars of choice. Only then will society come to see and respect the sanctity of life.

Photographs: Stephen Wise

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