No Compromise

     It has been the spirit of every great movement to achieve positive change, to abolish an evil, that victory must be pursued whole-heartedly, not with mild compromise. Martin Luther King, Jr., the champion of the civil rights movement in the 1960's, stated that "This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy." The abolitionists of a century before him also took the same position, arguing that, as William Lloyd Garrison put it, "I am in earnest - I will not equivocate - I will not excuse - I will not retreat a single inch - and I will be heard!" Across the pond and earlier still, William Wilberforce proposed the same uncompromising bill ending the slave trade entirely every year, and every year saw it voted down. Even though he did eventually compromise and utilize incrementalism to achieve the abolition of the slave trade, he regretted that decision and saw it as the cause of the lengthy continuation of slavery within the British empire. When given a second chance in the fight against slavery he enthusiastically endorsed the position of Garrison and the immediate abolitionists. It is this sort of uncompromising dedication to principle, not twisted politicking, that achieves lasting results.

     Despite this historical fact, there are those who would have us believe that the way to end the evil of abortion is to approach the issue gradually, chipping away at its facade here and there, saving a few lives while abandoning others. That approach is horribly misguided and has hamstrung the pro-life movement for decades. Abortion was foisted on the country gradually, but it will not be abolished gradually, just as slavery was not abolished gradually.

     With that in mind, those who wish to see the end of abortion within our generation must reject the "tranquilizing drug of gradualism" and refuse to retreat a single inch. We are on the winning side if we just stand our ground. Tom Hoefling, unlike any other presidential candidate, has a plan to achieve the immediate abolition of abortion within the United States. He pledges, if elected, to apply the protections of the 14th amendment to the unborn, beginning by issuing a presidential finding of the self-evident fact that the unborn are persons under the law, then requiring states to offer equal protection under existing laws to the unborn. We can abolish abortion in this generation, but we will not if we allow ourselves to be sidetracked by the false promise of gradualism.

For a new birth of freedom!