Time to worry

By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | Oct 14, 2004

Please tell me: What is there in the following statement that could not have been said by Bill Clinton:

I believe the ideal world is one in which every child is protected in law and welcomed to life. I understand there's great differences on this issue of abortion, but I believe reasonable people can come together and put good law in place that will help reduce the number of abortions.

The quote isn't from Clinton, of course. It's from our pro-life President George Bush, in last night's debate. That's the closest he came to promising any action to stop abortion.

Thirty years ago, a pro-life presidential candidate would have-- and in fact did-- promise to overturn Roe v. Wade and ban abortion altogether. In that time, the pro-life candidate has won 5 out of 7 elections. Yet we keep losing ground, and now the pro-life candidate doesn't dare to hint at opposition to Roe. What's gone wrong?

For one thing, we've sold our support too cheaply. We haven't demanded clear and substantive promises from our favored candidates. On Election Day, pro-lifers will go out and vote in droves for Bush. Then if he wins, we'll expect him to deliver on his promises. Let the record show: he hasn't promised much.