Following Monday evening's first presidential debate between Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump, evangelist Franklin Graham on Tuesday morning issued a challenge to politicians who proclaim they are fighting for children's rights. "You can't say you've spent your life standing up for children when you support killing them in the womb," Graham stated on his Facebook page. Regarding abortion, both current presidential candidates have supported pro-choice stances.
Graham said some candidates have entire political ads talking about how they spent their career fighting for the rights of children. "Yet they spent their entire career fighting against the rights of unborn children! Since Roe v. Wade in 1973, it is estimated that over 58 million children have been killed by abortion in this country. Doesn't an unborn child have any right to live?" he posed.
"God's Word says He knew us in our mother's womb. We need to hold politicians and political parties accountable for consistent positions."
Donald Trump's stance on abortion has changed so many times that voters voice it's hard to keep track, reports Hollywood Life. In 1999, Trump said he was "very pro-choice, even supporting partial-birth abortion." Then in 2015, he said he had "evolved on many years over the years," according to Fox News.
"And I am pro-life. And if you look at the question, I was in business. They asked me a question as to pro-life or choice. And I said if you let [that quoted excerpt] run, that I hate the concept of abortion. I hate the concept of abortion. And then since then, I've very much evolved. And what happened is friends of mine years ago were going to have a child, and it was going to be aborted. And it wasn't aborted. And that child today is a total superstar, a great, great child. And I saw that. And I saw other instances. And I am very, very proud to say that I am pro-life," said Trump.
But Trump's most recent position on the matter is that he will "ban abortion" if elected, and that "there has to be some form of punishment, yeah" for women who get abortions. He has backtracked on the issue, however, and said that he'll allow exceptions for victims of rape or incest, or to save the life of mothers. Regarding criminalizing abortions, Trump put out a statement saying the issue is "unclear and should be put back into the states for determination," reports NBC News. Within 80 minutes as this statement, he issued a second statement to indicate he then thought physicians who perform "illegal abortion acts" should be held accountable, not women. He also wants anti-abortion judges on the Supreme Court, and selected Mike Pence as his vice president, who called for the government shutdown to defund Planned Parenthood.
Clinton's stance on reproductive rights is straightforward: She believes safe and legal abortion should be a right for all U.S. women in the United States, and has fought for this throughout her entire career. She's pledged to appeal the Hyde Amendment, a little-known policy implemented in 1976, which makes it difficult for low-income women to get abortions. Women on Medicaid, except in 14 states, cannot use their coverage to pay for abortions.
Graham asserted the future of the Supreme Court is what's at stake in November's presidential election. "This court and their rulings on issues of religious freedom, marriage, abortion, and much more will impact this country for our lifetime and the lifetime of our children and grandchildren. There's so much on the line here."
