Each day seems more and more like a science fiction movie that few of us ever imagined actually experiencing, as we navigate a deadly and world-sweeping viral epidemic. Most Americans, regardless of state, are now in a shelter-in-place quarantine scenario of various degrees as we attempt to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
How long will this crisis last? We truly don’t know– but by all accounts we do know that maximizing survival rates is critically dependent on continuing social distancing and shelter in place efforts across the country. It may not protect the economy, but it will undoubtedly save countless lives– especially the elderly and vulnerable.
And yet, even though disease control experts are united on what is necessary to save potentially thousands of lives, our “pro-life” president is breaking with the medical community and stating that he’d not only like to see America “reopen” in a few weeks, but that he wants to see “churches packed” on Easter.
(Side note- if the antichrist were to come and wanted to kill off Christians, telling them to go pack churches during an epidemic would be a great way to do it.)
Donald Trump was elected in large part because he convinced evangelicals to overlook 1001 reasons why a faithful Christian could never support him, and he did it by claiming to be “pro-life”. And throughout his presidency every— and I mean EVERY– time I’ve pointed out his grossly immoral character to Christian Trump supporters, I get the same response: “But, but, he’s pro-life…”
So for all the Christian Trump supporters out there who passionately defend their support on the grounds of being “pro-life,” let me break this down for you:
It’s not pro-life if we decide to let the old folks get killed off.
It’s not pro-life to protect the unborn but sacrifice the ones that were already born.
It is no secret that as a nation, we are being forced to pick between two crappy options– saving lives or saving parts of the economy. But for those who call themselves pro-life, there is no way around this one.
You cannot jump into a discussion on abortion and claim that “as a nation it is dangerous to decide who lives and who dies based on the convenience of the living,” as we were all taught to argue, but then turn around and decide the economic cost is too great and too inconvenient to justify protecting the lives of the elderly and others at high risk.
You cannot in one breath claim that Trump is a “pro-life” president who believes in protecting the sanctity of life, and in another breath support sacrificing the old folks.
I mean, c’mon. Even Franklin Graham gets this one:
Our nation is at a potential crossroad in the battle to contain COVID-19, and the path we choose has real lives in the balance. We face a choice of doing what is good for the economy, or doing what is right for the vulnerable… a choice between saving money or saving real lives.
For those who value human life above all else, there should be no question to be had on this one:
It’s not pro-life when someone is willing to sacrifice Grandpa Jones for Dow Jones.
