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When Abortion Becomes a Deflection Mechanism

I hate abortion.  I really do.  My mother was a pro-life warrior until the day she died, which is one of the only reasons I exist.  So as you read this, don't think that I am supporting abortion in any imaginable way.

That being said, pro-life advocates have a problem.  You see, we take every possible issue and we make it about abortion.  Gun control?  Abortion.  Immigration?  Abortion.  Donald Trump sleeping with porn stars (even though there was no sleeping involved)?  Abortion.  Every time an issue is brought up for discussion, we just remind liberals about abortion like it's some sort of trump card (pun partially intended).  We act like abortion ends every conversation about any political, cultural, or moral issue. 

Again, let me clarify.  There is nothing wrong with pointing out moral and intellectual inconsistencies.  I think it's a good thing to do, both as an evangelistic tool and as a debate tactic.  This point stands: if you believe that it is okay to burn, crush, or dismember children who are still in the womb, you have no place in a discussion of morality.  How can you lecture anyone about family values or caring for the vulnerable when you believe it is an inalienable human right for a woman to murder her own unborn child?

Nevertheless, we cannot allow those inconsistencies to render us myopic.  When presented with the issues that face this nation, we must engage them honestly.  Our current immigration policies (or at least the implementation thereof) are flawed, but how can we improve them?  The answer to that question is not directly tied to what one believes about abortion.  Is it indirectly connected?  Sure, but, then again, all issues are indirectly connected.  We must not use abortion as a deflection mechanism.  We must not allow our zeal for this issue, well-founded though it is, to blind us to the importance of all the other issues that must be solved.     


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