(LifeSiteNews) — Republicans are doing themselves no favors by shrinking in fear of the abortion debate and must instead boldly turn the conversation back to life, according to North Carolina GOP Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson.
During a recent interview with Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, Robinson called on members of his party to “stop being cowards and stand up for what you believe,” paired with a rhetorical shift from “the A-word” to “life.”
“I’m tired of talking about abortion,” he said. “I’ve changed what I’m saying. Democrats, the leftists, they want everyone to say the word ‘abortion.’ They want our children to say it in schools. They want us to say it in our churches. They want politicians to say it on the floor of the House and on the floor of the Senate. They want me to say it. As the lieutenant governor, I’m bound and determined to stand up for what I believe in. And what I believe in [is] life — and it’s time for us to start using that word. This is an issue of life, about protecting life, and then about doing what we can to elect officials to make sure that once those lives come into the world, that they have life and have it more abundantly.”
“They think that I’ve changed my position,” he continued. “I have not changed my position […] The subject is not abortion. The subject is life. And that’s where conservatives need to debate.”
“When I speak, I want to be that person who’s there, who’s understanding. I want to be the person who’s… not up on a platform telling the young woman why she can’t have an abortion,” Robinson went on. “I want to be that person who’s coming down, putting my arm around that young woman who may find [herself] in crisis, and telling them why she doesn’t have to have an abortion, [and that] our folks as elected officials [are] going to fight hard to make sure that you can bring that child into the world — and not only bring that child into the world but have a great life for that child, yourself, and your family.”
“My wife and I chose the route of abortion years ago,” the lieutenant governor shared, “and I cannot tell you the immense pain, the solid pain that we went through for so many years over this issue. It was just this unspoken thing that hurt both of us very deeply. And we have always regretted it, almost to the point where we just couldn’t even speak to one another about it because it was so painful […] It’s because of this experience and our spiritual journey that we are so adamantly pro-life.”
“That’s one of the best things about giving your life to Jesus Christ, you know when Jesus forgives. It’s a forgiveness that you can feel down deep in your soul,” he added. “But I would definitely warn anyone, any young person out there, do not take this issue lightly. Do not take this issue lightly. It haunts, it hurts, and it causes deep emotional distress.”
Robinson advised GOP candidates to “stop listening to the bad reports of CNN, CBS, and ABC and all those news agencies that are using this issue to try to browbeat Christian, Bible-believing conservatives. That’s number one. The second thing that I would say is, quite frankly, stop being a coward and stand up for what you say you believe in. It’s time for the people of this nation to realize who we are […] America’s survival is at stake. We need to make our stands strong — and it starts with us standing up for what’s right.”
Fourteen states currently ban all or most abortions, with available data so far indicating that now-enforceable pro-life laws could effectively wipe out an estimated 200,000 abortions a year.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, abortion allies have pursued a variety of tactics to keep the abortion industry going, such as easy access to abortion pills, enshrining “rights” to abortion in state constitutions, legal protection and financial support of interstate abortion travel, constructing new abortion facilities near borders shared by pro-life and pro-abortion states, and making liberal states sanctuaries for those who want to evade or violate the laws of more pro-life neighbors.
The abortion lobby’s success in multiple ballot initiatives since Roe, as well as Republicans’ underperformance in the 2022 midterm elections that many wrongly expected to oust Democrats from both chambers of Congress, have prompted many in the GOP to blame the party’s problems on strong abortion stands, while others urge the party not to abandon the cause. Evidence suggests that abortion was a smaller factor than many other problems Republicans had in the midterms, but pro-life failures with ballot initiatives have prompted much conversation about the need to develop new strategies to protect life at the ballot box.
President Joe Biden has called on Congress to codify a “right” to abortion in federal law, which would not only restore but expand the Roe status quo by making it illegal for states to pass virtually any pro-life laws. The 2024 elections will determine whether Democrats retain the White House and keep or gain enough seats in Congress to make that happen.