On Voting for the Lessor of Two Evils

October is “Respect Life” month, and a number of Pro-life activities are at the forefront in October.

The month of October is in the middle of the “40 Days for Life” campaign. October 22 is the feast day for St John Paul II, author of the “Gospel of Life.” This day is also the start of the “Respect Life” novena sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

At the same time we are also just a few days from our nation’s political elections.

Political debates during this election season have entered the faith realm as seen by the many essays and blogs, including essays in Catholic Stand (here, here, and here). I think it is quite natural that discerning who and what to vote for must involve factoring in our faith beliefs and priorities.

All the noise over Trump’s and Harris’s character and their rhetoric can lead us think that the election is just about a person. For many, the two choices available appear as a negative decision-making process. Neither one seems to project a favorable response. Many of my friends and relatives contend that it’s a question as Pope Francis put it as “a choice between the lessor of two evils.”

However, the election is about much more than either Trump or Harris. Governorships, Congressional seats, various state and local offices, and many ballot initiatives (such as abortion as a right in state constitutions) are “up for grabs.”

Votes have Consequences

In this sense the election is not just about the personality of the Presidential candidate. It is also about which political party to vote for with its unique political philosophy or mindset demonstrated by its practices.

Because of this situation, I suggest looking beyond the candidates, to their individual and party policies and platforms (especially what they have done when in power) at the local, state and federal level.

There are numerous “voter guides” with some published by the USCCB. They cover a wide variety of topics for weighing candidates positions. While such guides try to cover major issues, each individual has priorities.

In respect to my opening comments, I think abortion is front and center. It is the preeminent issue for a number of reasons with broader implications than just the killing of an innocent life.

Promoting Abortion under the Umbrella of Women’s Rights

Abortion is the lynch pin for the ethical well-being of a culture and a country. Its much more than just an issue of women’s rights. Mother Teresa summarizes the underlying issues best.

“The greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child, a direct killing of the innocent child, murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?  America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v. Wade has deformed a great nation. If a mother can kill her own child – what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me – there is nothing between.”

“Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.”

Questions arise when voting, such as what candidate, party, or policies at local, state, and federal levels support abortion.

• Who supports abortion at any stage – including late term?
• Who does not support born alive laws that protect babies born from abortions from being denied medical care or from being killed?
• Who supports the Women’s Health Protection Act that would eradicate all state restrictions on abortion at any stage of pregnancy?
• Who disregards the Hyde amendment and uses government money to pay for abortions?
• Who does not support parental notification of students desire for and actual abortions?
• Who supports assisted suicide?

Abortion Agenda Implications for Religious Freedom

The support for the abortion agenda has serious religious freedom implications. Again, questions arise.

• Who supports laws requiring health care workers to participate in or refer to abortions?
• Who supports laws requiring pregnancy resource centers to provide abortion information?
• Who supported the “Do No Harm Act of 2019” which would have ended religious liberty exemptions for certain government mandates?
• Who rejects religious exemptions for abortion laws: “That Cannot be Negotiable”?
• Who supports requirements for Catholic hospitals to provide abortions?
• Who has filed law suits against Catholic entities such as the Little Sisters of the Poor for not providing abortion and contraception services?
• Who scrutinizes Judicial nominees if they belong to the Knights of Columbus because that organization adheres to Catholic teaching on pro-life?

The answers to all these questions are Democratic politicians and or Kamala Harris. While it may well be that not every Democratic politician at various levels of political offices (local, state, federal) is fully supportive of all these positions the trend is clear. It is an extreme position that will cost many lives.

Republicans, including Donald Trump, may offer various degrees of pro-life support. However, they definitely run counter to the positions the Democrat politicians have staked out.  In that sense they are the lesser of two evils.

The Promotion of Gender Ideology

There are a multitude of other issues that relate to pro-life. The disregard for the dignity of the human person as expressed by the gender ideology progressive movement is a major one. It undercuts our sense of humanity as God created us – man and woman. As Pope Francis has said “it’s the ugliest danger”.

The effect of this promotion is especially an issue for the young. They should be protected from the promotion of transgender and LBGQT ideology. Again we can ask questions.

• Who supports transgenders being allowed to compete in opposite gender sports and in open bathrooms, showers and locker rooms?
  • Who supports school based LBGQT ideology events such as “drag queen story hours”?
  • Who supports transitional surgery and hormones for the young?
  • Who does not support the guidelines of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health that set recommended age minimums for certain sex-change procedures?

As with abortion issues there are religious freedom implications. Three questions to ask are:

• Who supports not allowing parental notification of students desire for transition surgery and hormones?
• Who supports taking a child from their parents if they don’t support the child’s desire to transition?
• Who supports government EEOC regulations that employers and citizens risk liability for using incorrect names or pronouns or limiting bathroom access based on biological sex instead of gender identity?

The Democratic politicians at every level clearly support and promote such polices. The Republicans seem to have a mixed record. For instance, government funds have paid for transgender surgeries for correctional inmates, members of the military, and illegal immigrants under both Trump and Biden administration. However, as a whole, the Republicans appear the lessor of two evils on this issue.

National Security

To be sure there are many other “hot button issues” that relate to pro-life in that they reflect actions that don’t respect the dignity of the human person. However, there can be no efforts to protect the dignity of the human person without security. Again, there are questions:

• Which politicians and political party policies reduced border security including promoting sanctuary cities? This had a serious impact on illegal immigration run amok with thousands of convicted criminals crossing our borders.
• Which political party policies have promoted Diversity, Equity Inclusion (DEI) that devalues merit? Not being evaluated on our merit undercuts the pursuit of excellence affecting educational achievement, innovation, and productivity. This especially impacted the military whereby DEI is given a priority in many units. Our preparedness is rated marginal to weak in most categories. Poorly defined priorities was one major factor.
• Who has supported defund police efforts decreasing public safety?

The answers to these questions again are Democratic politicians and policies while the Republicans have promoted strong security and anti DEI policies.

Final Conclusions

To be sure there are a multitude of other issues that an individual can consider in casting a vote. What I have presented are priorities that link to what can be considered to preeminent concern – Life.

Our candidates for President are less than perfect to say the least. Voting for the lessor of two evils is one logical strategy. But there is another related factor.

The expression “Do no harm” is often attributed to the ancient Hippocratic Oath that physicians used to cite. However, it was not part of that oath and “do no harm” dates to medical texts from the mid-19th century, and is attributed to the 17th century English physician Thomas Sydenham.

In looking at voting choices, an extension of that adage would be who or what party would do or had done the “least harm” or its opposite “most harm” are valuable vote criteria.

In terms of these life issues, the Democratic candidates, mindset and policies at local, state and the federal level, with their push for progressive ideologies, have done and will continue to do the “most harm.”

As mentioned earlier, the election is about more than a candidate and his or her personality. Even though Donald Trump is an arrogant, self-centered egotist, within this context, the Republican policies and their candidates would provide “the least harm.”