Pro-Choice "Christian" from Michigan Votes Against Medical Care for Abortion Survivors
/Newly elected Democrat Hillary Scholten, who defeated former President Donald Trump’s pick John Gibbs in the 2022 Michigan midterm election, gave a passionate speech on the House floor opposing the Born Alive Survivors Protection Act.
In her speech opposing the requirement of medical care for newborns that survive abortion, she invoked her Christian faith. “As a pro-choice Christian who chose life, this issue is so personal to me.” Scholten went on to invoke Jeremiah 1:5, using a scripture commonly recited by pro-life Christians.
“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”
“It doesn’t say the ‘government’s womb’ or the ‘Speaker’s womb.’ It says the ‘mother’s womb.’”
Yes, God forms us in our mother’s womb, and this passage is not about acknowledging a woman’s relationship or ownership of her child. It’s about establishing the connection Jeremiah had with God from the beginning. Christians cite this passage in acknowledgment of their deep connection with God, His meticulous plans for our lives, and the loving thoughtfulness He put into crafting us.
Even a mother’s relationship with her child takes a backseat to the child’s relationship with God. When a woman has an abortion, she is not merely ending the life of her child and putting an end to their future line. She is also robbing God of His creation meant to live their life glorifying Him. A mother should not try to overwrite the eternal bond we forge with God.
While reflecting on Scholten’s remarks, the tale of two mothers coming before King Solomon came to mind. They both lived together, and both had children. One of the babies died, so both women claimed to be the child’s mother. When Solomon announced he was going to cut the baby in half, the child’s real mother was willing to let the other woman have the baby, if that would save the child’s life. The other woman was completely fine with chopping the baby in two, because if she couldn’t have the child then no one should. Through their reactions, King Solomon recognized the true mother and granted custody to the woman who wanted to save the child.
Scholten wanted her baby, but she is content with letting another woman’s child be brutally killed, whether through suffocation/starvation, dismemberment, or lethal injection. She speaks as though a child has no unalienable right to life. They are a human to be owned and discarded if the property owner of the womb says so. But children are not play-things. Though they can bring much joy to parents, they are not tools for our personal pleasure. They are individuals made in the image of God, each deserving to be protected against being deliberately killed.
The Born Alive Survivors Protection Act isn’t about protecting abortion; the woman has already had one. It’s about saving a newborn who survived the assassination attempt, so it’s not about what happens in the mother’s womb. But politicians like Scholten are trying to protect the intent of abortion and shield the conscience of Americans. To continue making legislation and protections around the survivor is a reminder the child was a victim of violence.
Scholten said, “I believe life is precious, but I reject the idea that if I embrace the sanctity of life, I also must be forced to invite the federal government in to regulate it. We must protect families from unnecessary government intrusion into the most sacred and personal decisions of our lives and our children’s lives.”
As a congresswoman, I assume Scholten has read the Declaration of Independence. Surely, she must know that to “secure” our unalienable rights, “Governments are instituted among Men.” One of those right’s is “Life.” Scholten isn’t merely violating her Christian conscience, she’s violating her purpose as a government official.
Scholten and her Democrat colleagues will certainly fight to expand federal government power and intrude upon the liberties of Americans, so her libertarian argument doesn’t hold up. It’s amazing that Democrats don’t believe interfering with the voluntary contract between business owners and employees, forcing a business to pay a wage—perhaps one they can’t afford—isn’t too much government interference, but protecting a human in the womb from coordinated and deliberate violence is just too much.
Democrats have claimed the bill is unnecessary because we have laws on the books regarding the protection of infants who survive abortion. But our laws recognize them as persons; it doesn’t require immediate care. The Born Alive Infants Protection Act received bipartisan support in 2002, but 210 out of 212 Democrats rejected this new bill. Only Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas voted for it, and Rep. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas voted “present.” This is a clear example of how radical Democrats have shifted on abortion. It’s not about “safe, legal, and rare.” It’s “protect abortion at all costs.”
All Christians should know that God is obviously against abortion. The next time Scholten wants to invoke a Bible verse, she should start with: “thou shalt not murder.” Abortion may be legal in much of the country, but it is still an unjustified killing in the eyes of God.
