The Complete Guide to Engaging your Local Representatives on Abortion
Do you want to outlaw abortion in your state? You’re in the right place.
In addition to supplying you with a specific and strategic plan of action, this guide responds to many of the common objections against making abortion a criminal act. It will also help you understand the components of righteous legislation that provides equal justice under the law for pre-born babies.
If you’re ready to secure the protection of children in your state, please read on.
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Part 1
Christian Foundations For Getting Involved
This is an introduction that lays the foundations for Christian involvement in matters of civil government. If abortion is to end, this is an area that Christians can no longer afford to neglect. The reason justice and righteousness are nowhere to be found in our nation is that truth has stumbled in the public square (Isaiah 59:14). If the Church will not speak truth to those in authority, the innocent will continue to be made the prey of their oppressors.
Part 1: The Christian Reasoning For Getting Involved
Why We Must Engage Our Legislators
Political leaders are commanded to defend the rights of the needy and the innocent (Prov. 31:8-9, Isa. 5:20-23), and they are commanded to be a terror to evildoers (Rom. 13:1-5). When they fail, we the people are at fault. God commands us not to become the slave of men (1 Cor. 7:20-24), and he holds us accountable when our leaders commit injustice (Isa. 5:20-26).
The Bible teaches that God has assigned all of us to our current location, and placed us within our current borders (Acts 17:26).
He has also ordained civil magistrates (His deacons of justice) to have authority over those he has placed within these borders.
Their chief function is to bear the sword against evildoers (Romans 13:1-4).
Our role as the Church is to exhort our representatives to do their duty before God and before the people.
They have been placed by God in a position to govern and they will give an account to Him for how they have governed (Psalm 119:146, Revelation 1:5).
The kings of the earth are commanded to obey King Jesus (Psalm 2:10-12), and that call to obedience encompasses both their private and public lives.
We live in a nation that allows us the freedom and ability to change the law and public policy. Changing laws begins with local legislators as they are specifically elected to represent the interests of those living in their immediate area.
“Our role as the Church is to exhort our representatives to do their duty before God, and before people.”
Therefore, the result of your local effort can have an impact on your county, city, and state.
In this case, it can affect whether or not your state protects all preborn children.
Part 1: The Christian Reasoning For Getting Involved
What You Are Asking Legislators To Do
You are asking your legislators to act consistently with the conviction that life begins at the moment of fertilization by introducing a bill of equal protection in your state.
Passing legislation like this criminalizes the act of abortion by giving babies in the womb the same protections everyone else is entitled to under the law.
It is important to ensure that our representatives be made aware that taking a stand like this will not make them popular. Taking action in this way will open them up to hostility not only from abortion advocates but from those within their own ranks.
You are asking your legislators to act consistently with the conviction that life begins at the moment of fertilization by introducing a bill of equal protection for the preborn in your state
Therefore, they must be coached on how to respond to the objections they will receive once you have won them to a Biblical position.
Your involvement as a Christian is critical in encouraging them to remain uncompromising in the face of opposition.
Part 1: The Christian Reasoning For Getting Involved
What Qualifies You
Take heart and do not be intimidated. You do not need to be a an expert in public policy in order to be a faithful Christian.
Many of those who call themselves “pro-life” are little more than career politicians.
The vast majority have not thought through a consistent legislative approach that would protect all children in their state.
They will require instruction and exhortation from you.
For more information on End Abortion Now’s message to the legislative realm, please visit here to familiarize yourself with our approach
As a Christian, you not only get to instruct them from the Scriptures about abortion, but you have the opportunity to lead them to a consistent application of justice when it comes to the preservation of life.
Part 2
Practical Application
Now that you know why you should be involved, this section will equip you with how you are to go about it. Specifically, it will help you track down your local representatives and provide you with guidance on how to engage them on the issue of abortion. This includes the manner of our engagement, good questions to ask, and the components of righteous legislation.
Part 2: Practical Application
Operating From A Disposition Of Love
(1 Corinthians 1:31, Romans 13:8-10)
Communicating with legislators is NOT approached in the same manner as with the abortion-minded outside of the clinics.
While seeking justice is an urgent pursuit, you are not speaking with someone who is moments away from killing another human being.
Your correspondence will ideally stretch beyond a single meeting.
This is what you want.
These men and women need to know that you care about them and will support them if they take a courageous stand for life.
While seeking justice is an urgent pursuit, you are not speaking with someone who is moments away from killing another human being.
Part 2: Practical Application
Local Strategy
Legislators know that if you live in their district you can have a direct impact on their reelection. Use this knowledge to your advantage.
This is not essential to have someone introduce a bill. But if you and others are mobilized in the district of the legislator you are looking to influence, odds are quite good they will take you more seriously.
Christians know that the Gospel is the power of God and it is the truth that changes the hearts and minds of men and women in positions of authority.
However, we must use all righteous means at our disposal to place pressure on those in government to do what is right.
Nothing motivates a politician like the fear of being potentially removed.
If you can give your legislator a sense that you can affect their ability to be reelected, you will have their attention.
Calling on legislators to introduce bills that abolish abortion begins with finding your local legislators on the side of life.
If you can give your legislator a sense that you can affect their ability to be reelected, you will have their attention.
Part 2: Practical Application
Finding Your Local Legislators
Start by looking up local legislators in your district that claim to be Pro-Life. Here is an easy tool to start your search
These Pro-Life legislators typically share your moral foundation that life begins at conception.
You can see what bills they have supported in their history because it is public information.
Get a general idea of the issues they care about the most by looking through the causes to which they have signed their name.
Part 2: Practical Application
Making First Contact
Once you find a pro-life legislator in your area, reach out to them (by phone, if possible) to introduce yourself and schedule an initial meeting to let them know your purpose for contacting them.
In this meeting, you are looking to get to know them and establish a connection for the cause of life.
Potential Questions to Ask Your Legislator When You Meet
Depending on their time commitments, you may not be able to fit all of these into a single meeting.
Either way, thank them for meeting with you and be sure to leave with a follow-up meeting on the calendar.
Part 2: Practical Application
Tenets of a Righteous Bill
We want legislators to support and introduce bills of equal protection.
This requires an understanding of how bills that abolish abortion as murder differ from bills that regulate abortion as healthcare.
Part 3
Common Objections & Example Dialogue
Now that we understand the difference between common “pro-life” legislation and consistent Biblical legislation, how are we to graciously convince these legislators to support equal protection bills? What should our proposal look like, and what objections do we need to be ready to overcome as they relate to the five tenets we previously outlined?
Part 3: Common Objections & Example Dialogues
Outlaw Abortion From Conception
Example Dialogue
You: Representative ____, do you believe that life begins at conception?
Representative: Yes, I do.
You: Excellent! Me, too. I want to encourage and support you to introduce a bill of equal protection consistent with that profession.
Representative: We have had success introducing other bills that are more likely to pass. For example, a heartbeat ban would be the best shot at allowing lives to be saved.
You: Representative ______, but this would undermine our fundamental belief and force us to operate from a premise that is not true. We would have to surrender our Christian commitments in order to support legislation like that.
Representative: But a heartbeat bill would ban abortions from being performed.
You: No, bills like that ban abortions after a certain period, which is a way of keeping abortion legal up to that point. We have to remember, neither age, pain nor situation are the markers that make life valuable. If life begins at conception, so must protection.
Part 3: Common Objections & Example Dialogues
No Exceptions
Protecting humans from conception means including abortion under the criminal code and treating it as murder, the same as we do for everyone else.
If we grant exceptions, what we are saying is that it’s not really murder.
This point will help you to be ready when you encounter objections regarding the health and well-being of the mother so that you can begin clearing away the debris that stands in the minds of legislators as to why they cannot end the slaughter of babies immediately.
What if the Life of the Mother is at Stake?
Explain to the legislator that less than 2% of all abortions are for exceptional cases (rape, incest, and life of the mother).
The vast majority of abortions are elective.
The choice between a mother’s life and the life of her child is a moral dilemma.
However, this is exceedingly rare and an altogether different situation than an abortion.
In this case, a physician would be on a rescue mission to preserve as many lives as possible.
If he can only save one life, then he is obligated to save that life.
This is not the same thing as intentionally taking the life of a baby as in the case of an abortion.
Ectopic pregnancies are commonly used here to bolster the objection and provide a more common example of a danger to the health of the mother.
Even so, the procedures necessary to help the mother are performed at hospitals, NOT abortion clinics or “women’s centers.”
Here is a more extensive dive into ectopic pregnancies, if you are interested.
What if the Woman Was Raped?
This objection relies on its emotional appeal.
When it comes to the issue of rape, ask, “In what other legal situation would we advocate punishing a child for the crimes of his or her father?”
A baby in the womb should not receive the death penalty because their father perpetrated a horrific crime against their mother outside of their control.
Also, if the mother was raped, she is the true victim of a crime.
If she commits an abortion, she has now become the perpetrator of a crime against her own child.
Rape is wrong for the same reason abortion is wrong—both are violations of another person and their body against their will.
Example Dialogue
Representative: I’m completely opposed to abortion except in cases where a mom could lose their life if she didn’t have access to it. We also need to remember the women that have become pregnant because they were raped.
You: Virtually all abortions are for elective reasons. How can we possibly allow situations that make up less than 2% of abortions to dictate how we protect the 98% of others that die for issues of convenience? We would never say that a child conceived from rape or an incestuous relationship is less valuable than all the others that die for elective reasons. We would also never punish a child for the crimes of their father, would we? How can we turn a victimized mother into an offender against her baby?
Representative: But what if her life is in jeopardy?
You: Then physicians, like lawmakers, must do their duty to protect life. We are talking about the difference between intentional murder and a medical rescue with two lives potentially hanging in the balance. We simply cannot allow exceptions if we maintain that the origin of life is at conception. Otherwise, how can we be consistently Pro-Life?
Part 3: Common Objections & Example Dialogues
Establish Equal Justice for the Preborn
Preborn people must be protected by the same laws that protect born people.
Bills that regulate abortion as “healthcare” provide the mother with automatic legal immunity.
This is not equal justice and protection because if it is murder, then all parties involved must be held responsible.
Speaking to this point will emphasize the importance of consistency.
Punishing the Mother is Wrong
This objection is held up by the second victim narrative.
This states that the mother of the pre-born child is just as much a victim of abortion as her baby.
But if we treat the mother as the second victim in abortion, we set ourselves in opposition to equal justice.
After all, do we truly believe that pre-born children are human beings from conception?
If so, the mother must be considered the perpetrator of a crime rather than a victim.
Any other conclusion would force us to discriminate between different human beings based on their age.
Many of our laws already reflect the humanity of the pre-born child under the criminal code.
Thirty-eight states currently recognize the pre-born child as a victim of a homicide, and even detail that the perpetrator against their life is criminally liable.
When someone kills a pregnant woman, they are charged with two counts of homicide.
Irrationally, it is only when a pregnant woman pays to have her baby killed that she is exempt from any prosecution.
What If She’s Under Duress?
When it comes to the issue of coercion, we already have existing laws in place for crimes committed under duress.
The need is for them to be applied consistently to the issue of abortion.
If a woman is genuinely forced to have an abortion, then the principle of due process is applied in a court of law where evidence and witnesses are brought forth as in any other case to determine culpability.
Some will reply by saying that if we pursue charges against the mother, then it makes it too difficult to bring charges against the abortionist.
However, this must not deter us from seeking to apply justice equally.
Everyone participating in the killing of babies in the womb is responsible and is to be delivered up to the civil magistrate.
Lastly, the idea that women are victims does not reflect reality when standing on the sidewalk in front of the abortion clinics.
Christians who spend hours upon hours ministering in this context can confirm that the vast majority of women going in to have abortions are not unwitting victims.
They know exactly what they are doing. If you minister at the clinics, USE YOUR EXPERIENCE WHEN TALKING TO LEGISLATORS.
Example Dialogue
Representative: The Pro-Life movement has never advocated for the woman to be punished for abortion. I could not support a bill that criminalized a mother.
You: Representative ____, would you apply that consistently to a mother who killed her one-year-old? Would you say she is a second victim in that murder? How can we legally discriminate against someone based on their age?
Representative: Have you thought about situations where young girls are sex-trafficked, or have an abusive boyfriend who would make them get an abortion?
You: Thank you for that important question. I have. This is why we already have laws on the books dealing with situations of coercion and why we have due process for all citizens under the law. This simply needs to be applied equally to abortion the same way we apply it to other cases of homicide. Representative ___, you do realize that more than half of the country recognizes pre-born children as victims of homicide, don’t you? If we fail to hold a woman accountable who takes part in the death of her child, then how do we maintain that babies in the womb are being protected like everyone else?
Representative: But many women do not know what they are doing. They have been misled and lied to.
You: I would acknowledge they have been lied to. However, I have seen firsthand that the idea of a woman as the second victim of abortion does not line up with reality. May I share with you some experiences I have had ministering to women at abortion clinics?
Part 3: Common Objections & Example Dialogues
Do Not Submit To The Unconstitutional Ruling of Roe v. Wade
The Supreme Court has no authority to legalize murder.
Roe is not only unconstitutional; it is evil.
Therefore, bills of equal protection do not operate within its framework or submit to the faulty ruling.
You must encourage your legislator to see the importance of interposition on behalf of babies in the womb.
This will help you deal with a primary objection employed by Pro-Life politicians who say that any effort to end abortion must assume the failed paradigm of submitting to Roe v. Wade.
Roe v. Wade is the Law of the Land
A major part of the failed Pro-Life strategy of the past 50 years has been seeking to overturn the infamous Supreme Court decision called ROE V WADE.
There is an assumption of judicial supremacy stemming from the idea that a court ruling is a law.
It is not.
We must remind our legislators that courts do not make laws.
That authority is reserved for legislative branches of government per the Constitution.
The Constitution makes clear that the people of individual states expressly grant limited authority to the federal government and any authority that is not expressly granted is left to the states (10th amendment).
This is why it is unconstitutional for the federal government to assume the power of ordering states not to outlaw abortion.
Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that a woman has the right to an abortion.
Nowhere does it read that SCOTUS has the final word on the issue. Abortion is not in the Constitution.
Therefore, it does not constitute the supreme law of the land. The chief right granted to us by God and protected by the government is “life.”
Furthermore, the Roe decision was based on the faulty premise that what is in the womb is “potential” human life.
We know now, more clearly than ever, that this is unequivocally false.
The Bible and biological science confirm that the baby in the womb is human from conception.
The Roe ruling was unconstitutional and is morally wrong.
It must be opposed, not appeased.
When unjust or immoral rulings are foisted upon the populace, it is the duty of those in lesser positions of authority to disobey them and protect their citizens.
This is where the doctrine of the lesser magistrates comes in.
For more information on this, please visit this link to read up on the importance of the doctrine: Get a copy for your legislator and gift it to them when you meet.
We must instruct our representatives about the duty of interposition and the power of state sovereignty to ignore unjust federal rulings.
We also need to point out that Roe v. Wade is unconstitutional.
The 14th amendment of the Constitution states that all human beings must have equal protection under the law.
For more on this, read this helpful article on our website.
The Courts Will Strike It Down
An objection like this assumes a pragmatic approach to ending abortion.
The reasoning goes something like this: “Proposing a bill like this will not work. The Supreme Court will reject it outright.”
The problem with this reasoning is that the Supreme Court is not God.
Our motivation for ending abortion is not found in doing “what works,” but in doing what’s right.
We are to be faithful and consistent.
We are to legislate in line with what we believe.
Most importantly, we are to obey and fear God rather than men (Acts 5:29).
Obedience to God shows our love for Him and our neighbor (John 14:15).
It is not pragmatism, but principled action that is the driving force of our labor, regardless of the outcome.
We must encourage our legislators and those in positions of authority to be courageous and uncompromising.
The Word of God tells us not to lean on our own understanding, or do what seems right in our own eyes (Proverbs 3:5-6).
It is not up to us to worry about the response of mere men in positions of civil government.
They have a limited amount of authority designated by God and enumerated in the Constitution.
The authority to prevent individual states from outlawing abortion is not among these.
It remains up to the states (the people) to establish justice, not the federal government.
Example Dialogue
Representative: Outlawing all abortion isn’t possible until Roe v. Wade is overturned. Unfortunately, Roe is the law of the land.
You: The strategy of overturning Roe rests on the lie that it is a law. It isn’t. Constitutionally, that is the role of Congress. No such law has been passed granting the right for women to kill their babies.
Representative: But we cannot go against the federal government.
You: Why not? States are already ignoring them when it comes to things like marijuana. How can we not do the same thing for the children of our state? What’s more important: marijuana or the lives of babies?
Representative: If we try to outlaw all abortion, the court will just strike it down.
You: Then let them. Let’s stand for righteousness and justice together and do the right thing before God for these babies. You have the same duty that a magistrate had in the Dred/Scott case when the Supreme Court ruled that people of color could be denied the privileges of citizenship: to reject it as immoral. I think we both believe that what we do now with this great evil in our age reveals the position we would have taken back then.
Representative: How do we do that?
You: We need legislation that establishes equal protection for children in the womb.
Part 3: Common Objections & Example Dialogues
Repeal or Supercede All Statutes That Allow for Abortion
Bills of abolition get rid of child-killing regulations currently on the books.
These must be nullified to eliminate anything that codifies the murder of the pre-born into law as long as certain conditions are met.
Here you will learn how to respond to the objections used to defend laws that treat abortion as healthcare.
It Would Do Away With All Of Our Progress
When speaking with a legislator about this, we should be sensitive to the reality that they may very well have fought for the preborn believing that any measure they took up was a benefit.
To be sure, we should praise God for any lives that have been saved, and do our best to commend them on their commitment to life.
At the same time, we must influence them to be fully consistent.
If a legislator were to object to a bill criminalizing abortion by saying it would do away with previous efforts that regulate abortion, it is essential to point out that in many cases these very measures have acted as a barrier to abolishing abortion and applying equal justice to the pre-born.
Any piece of legislation that says a woman must do “X”, and then she can kill her baby, is not a righteous and godly piece of legislation.
It is showing partiality and injustice to some babies and not others. Laws like this condemn the innocent and acquit the guilty.
God forbids both of these alike (Leviticus 19:15, Proverbs 17:15).
If all of us in the cause for life have the same goal (the end of abortion), then doing away with all abortion and protecting babies ought to be realizing ultimate progress, not taking away from our progress.
Once again, progress must not be defined by pragmatic considerations, but by the Word of God.
We are to take up the cause of righteousness by proposing consistent legislation that glorifies God (Isaiah 10:1-4).
Our vested interest must not be in continuing to keep abortion legal by supporting the same half measures that act in opposition to ending it.
The Bible warns us that God will judge people and their families for not removing the innocent blood being shed amongst them.
He is looking for those in authority to stand in the gap and interpose for the people. Remind them of the severity of this (Ezekiel 22:30-31).
Saving Some is Better Than Saving None
Many professing pro-life advocates and legislators will attempt to justify these measures by saying it is better to save some babies rather than none.
Their appeal is to a successful, foreseeable outcome rather than doing what is right and letting God work out the details of what happens.
The choice in this instance is not between saving some or saving none.
If elected officials did their duty and criminalized abortion as murder, all babies would be treated with the same protections as other human beings, and such a “choice” would be rendered completely unnecessary.
The question is: do we really believe that pre-born children are human beings?
If so, how can we continue to support such measures and see them as victories?
You need to be prepared to show your legislator how unacceptable it would be to apply a pro-life law to any other human being at a different stage in its development.
This can be a powerful tool. There is nothing honorable about making murder legal in some cases rather than others.
Example Dialogue
Representative: Doing something like this could ruin all the progress of laws already on the books.
You: Can you give me an example of one?
Representative: One of them prevents abortions by forcing the mom to wait three days before she can have one.
You: Can we imagine a scenario in which we would say that a man could rape a woman as long as he first waited 72 hours? What if we allowed people to violate women in a medically safe location, as long as the building met the proper health inspection codes? Wouldn’t this be unthinkable to us? There is nothing honorable about making murder legal in some cases rather than others.
Representative: But these laws can save lives.
You: I am thankful for any life that has been saved by laws like these. But this doesn’t change the fact that they are inconsistent, and ultimately help abortion stay legal in states that adopt them.
Representative: What do you mean? They are helping us until we can overturn Roe v. Wade.
You: Even if Roe were to be overturned, how many babies will continue to die because of child-killing regulation laws put in place by laws like these? For example, if a pro-life law states that abortion shall be a criminal act in this state EXCEPT when performed under the following circumstances __________, abortion would remain legal in that state because of the supposed “pro-life” law. Equal justice is the only way forward.
Representative: I understand. But we can only do what we can. It’s better to save some than none.
You: It is better to be faithful and do the right thing than what is politically expedient. We can end all abortion. Please have courage, be bold, and protect all of the citizens of our state. I will support you, stand with you, and use the many resources of others who are like-minded to get the message out as far as we can so that people across the country can support you as well.
Final Thoughts
Be prepared to stay in communication with your legislator over the long run.
Be willing to continue to put pressure on them to do the right thing even if they say they are with you.
Mere agreement on the issue is not enough, they need to be called to action.
You may find them agreeing with you to get you to be quiet.
This is why it is important that after a few initial meetings you should be prepared to reach out to them for weekly follow-up. Fifteen minutes or so a week should be sufficient.
As a general rule, be respectful, honor them, show them love, and seek to win them.
However, be persistent and do not allow them off the hook.
Call them to their duty and show them you will support them if they stand for righteousness.
