Ashley Judd, Trump, and a Personal Take

Ashley Judd, a popular actress, spoke to the DNC praising those who worked to keep abortion on demand legal. As a victim of sexual assault, she went on to say, “If abortion had not been safe and legal at that time, I would have been forced to carry to term and deliver a child that was conceived in rape”. Touting her support of staunch abortion advocate Hillary Clinton, Judd continued, “I am very grateful to NARAL and Men for Choice for allowing me the dignity to make that excruciating decision for myself”.

One Crime, Two Victims

As horrific as sexual assault is, the child conceived by this act of violence is innocent. Even the perpetrator of the crime is not given a death sentence – why would the child? Ask rape conceived advocates of life like Rebecca Kiessling and they will tell you that they are happy to be alive.

Kiessling has been working steadfastly for years as an advocate for those, who like her, were sentenced to death by their mothers. Fortunately in Kiessling’s case she survived and, as an attorney has made much headway in convincing legislators and the public alike that abortion exceptions are not the way to go. Her group, Save the 1, has a strong public presence and those who were conceived in rape, as well as their mothers, join the team daily.

Two Acts of Violence

The reality of the situation is that the violence of abortion does nothing to negate the violence of rape – it expounds the violence to two victims and does nothing to assuage the violation of the mother. What women who think like Judd need to remember is that a pregnancy from rape is not permanent. Nine months of gestation will allow an innocent child to be born. After birth there are choices available – keep the child or place her with a family through adoption.

A Personal Take

My personal experience demonstrates that the righteous solution does not advocate death for an innocent child. Nor did it complicate my survival. Had abortion been chosen, there would be one less person in the world. His two beautiful sons would not be here and there would have been a lifetime of regret and guilt on my part. Instead, a terrible situation, did not contribute to more violence – it added more lives.

Trump and Abortion Exceptions

My gratitude for a pro-life decision lies with those who formed my conscience and shared the Catholic Faith, as well as those who have endured in the bitter fight to save unborn lives. In keeping with this ideal, the idea of abortion exceptions is repugnant to me. Hillary Clinton is, head and shoulders, the most supportive of abortion of the two major candidates now presented to American voters. Yet the candidacy of Donald Trump does little to quell fears of business as usual when it comes to abortion. Still in the infancy of his proclaimed pro-life stance, Trump has made it clear that he stands for abortion exceptions – rape, incest, and life of the mother. Too many of his pro-life statements give pause to the pro-life faithful as well.

Voter Discernment

In discerning my options as a Catholic voter, I have come away with a decision that is new to me. In past elections, my vote has been given to the best possible choice between the two candidates presented by the major parties. It is inarguable that the pro-life platform of the RNC has never been stronger. Yet, if the options of candidates we are offered fail to represent these values they are of little consequence when measuring their qualification to lead us for the next four years.

It is my opinion that voting for the ‘lesser of two evils’ or the least objectionable candidate is no longer palatable for me. The ever downward trajectory that this strategy has brought us has reached it limits. There are too many reasons for my discernment to mention here but a thorough reading of 10 Reasons I Can Not Vote for Trump (or Clinton) will give more than enough information to understand my decision.

As faithful citizens we are presented with two moral choices in any given election where there is no ideal candidate. One is to vote for the one who appears to represent the least moral harm. The other is to vote for someone, of our choosing, who may not win but who more fully upholds Church Teaching.

From this point on my choice will be the latter. My objective is to vote my conscience, invoke a bit of soul searching on the part of my fellow citizens, and to civilly discourse the direction our nation is taking. In the end, we must all rely on our fully formed consciences.

To him therefore who knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to him it is sin. James 4:17