Top 10 things that Christians can do to keep up the fight against abortion, even with a pro-choice President

So it looks like Obama's about to win, and that is not good news for the unborn. Abortions will probably go up, so I'd like to lead a discussion about what we can do in response. I've included a Bible study or some sort of scientific study to support each point. Watch out, it'll be kind of angry:


10. Emphasize political power as the principal means of ending abortion in America.

Nothing is more important than the passage of federal laws against abortion, and if we can't get that far we might as well talk about the Supreme Court justices and get them to legislate from the bench. This is exactly how every other institution and interest group in the world gets their way, and if we want to get our way we have to play the same game that they do.


9. Continue to stigmatize pregnancy out of wedlock.

Shame is an incredibly effective means of getting people to obey, and the media has glamorized teen pregnancy too much. We have to stand against this and make sure that people know that getting pregnant outside of marriage is a terrible, awful thing so they won't want it and will do everything to avoid it (or the appearance of it.) This way, no one will ever have an abortion out of shame or fear of other Christians finding out.


8. Criticize and judge people who vote for pro-choice politicians.

Christians who believe that abortion is wrong yet vote for pro-choice politicians are either ignorant or disobedient, or maybe both. African-American churches and pastors especially don't have anything worth listening to, and if we try to dialogue with them we might give up the opportunity to tell them how they ought to vote and do church from the other side of town.


7. Continue to encourage abstinence-only sex education.

The public schools are already doing an excellent job teaching our kids math, science, reading, and critical thinking skills. Thus, they are in a prime position to tell teenagers especially not to have sex. If these teenagers don't hear about contraception, they won't think it's okay to have sex and thus they'll have less sex and thus they'll get pregnant less.


6. Support purity rings and abstinence pledges.

90% of abstinence pledges are broken eventually before marriage. This means that there's 10% of kids who probably would have had sex without them; so clearly they're working well. There really doesn't need to be much more teaching or encouragement in the church about this; as long as we tell teenagers over and over again that they shouldn't have sex they ought to get the message eventually.


5. Crank up the shock tactics.

Gory pictures and visceral impact is the most effective way to change the culture and help people realize how terrible abortion is. This strategy has led to lasting impact in other arenas: for example, awareness of conflict in Darfur and Eastern Congo was helped by ugly pictures of people being butchered and bombed, and that awareness has led to long-term policy changes helping millions of people be more secure. Loving others and changing the culture takes too long and it's dominated by too many liberal movie stars and professors, so it's probably not worth the effort.


4. Cut welfare, social services, and other similar programs. (PDF)

Women who get pregnant have to suffer the consequences of their own decisions and work themselves out of the hole they dug for themselves, and if they're really desperate they always know they can fall back on their church for moral, financial, and social support. The only reason that anyone ever has an abortion is for their convenience, and the more that we preach against this the less abortions we'll have.


3. Take what you can get.

When a political candidate comes around who has clearly evolved his or her position on abortion over time and doesn't fall in line with all life issues, talk him up like he's the best thing for the unborn since the invention of the placenta.


2. Get more people in the church doors and keep doing what you're doing once they're there.

Discipleship isn't nearly as important as increasing the number of warm bodies in a church service. People will figure out for themselves how to grow in Jesus once they're in the door. Equally effective would be not pursuing outreach and waiting for everyone to show up in church so you can tell them all about why they shouldn't be evolutionists and how to obey God better.


1. Piss and moan.

When all else fails, complain about how the liberals are ruining America and how if only God would only smite the wicked and give us some political power (see point #10), we'd be much better off. Let your love for the unborn twist into an obsession that colors everyone you see. Let your anger at injustice become hatred for those who commit it or allow it to go on. Let your faith in an all-powerful God become subservient to the view that government is the only one who can get stuff done around here. Put your trust in kings and princes, and throw a fit when you don't get your way.


(okay, everything but the first paragraph is a satire, and the take-home points are an exercise left to the reader, though there are other good and thoughtful things to read on the subject. feel free to comment.)