This essay was originally written in 2016 and revised September 27, 2018.

Everybody knows those pesky liberal judges are to blame for the legalization of abortion in the US right? Republicans will overlook a multitude of a candidate’s sins if they just promise they’ll nominate conservative judges.
So every election cycle Republicans nominate the same “moderate” Republican to run in the general election and we’re told we have to vote for him, for a multitude of reasons but mostly, to block those liberal judges from infiltrating the SCOTUS.
We’re told abortion will never be outlawed without a Republican to nominate good conservative judges.

I scroll through social media looking at the whole spectrum of political posts and I wonder why recent history is so easily forgotten.
With Roe v. Wade in 1973 the SCOTUS voted overwhelmingly to legalize abortion with a 7 to 2 vote. Of the seven who voted to legalize the slaughter of unborn children, five were appointed by Republican presidents.
Let that sink in for a moment.
Five of the seven votes to legalize abortion were from Republican appointed Justices.

Flash forward to 1993 for Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
There were eight Republican appointed Justices and one Democrat appointed Justice.  The court affirmed the basic ruling that the state is prohibited from banning most abortions. This was a case that most likely could’ve been the catalyst for overturning Roe v. Wade. But alas, another failure on behalf of conservative appointed judges.
Reagan/Bush appointed Justices O’Connor, Kennedy, and Souter formed a plurality upholding Roe v. Wade. 

It’s not just conservative appointed judges that are terrible on abortion. Maybe a good conservative President could do something the courts refuse to do? But flash forward again to George W. Bush’s administration. And be sure and remember the Republicans had all three branches of government long enough to implement whatever they wanted. Under the Bush administration Planned Parenthood received over $2 billion, maybe more, in funding. Under Bush federal funding for Planned Parenthood increased every year, slightly more than it did during the Clinton administration. In March 2018 despite a Republican majority in both houses, Trump signed the omnibus spending bill, which continued to fully fund Planned Parenthood to the tune of half a billion dollars. A dismal argument could be given that Planned Parenthood doesn’t spend federal money (your money) on abortion. In reality, every federal dollar given to them allows them to spend a non-federal dollar on abortion.

It makes you wonder what Republicans would run on if abortion was illegal? If you ignore the rhetoric and look at actual facts, the two parties are almost identical.
I’d be shocked if abortion is ever outlawed.
You can’t legislate morality.
Morality can only come from a heart change, and true heart change only comes from an encounter with Jesus Christ. We’re called to be ambassadors for Christ on this earth.
Not politicking activists placing our faith in a broken worldly system.

It’s amazing to me the Christian response of, “What do we do then? Just not vote and watch the country go to Hell? We have to do something.”
Two minutes on my knees in prayer can do more than an hour or more it takes you to go to vote.

You can blame the judges, politicians, or the system but true change will only come when our hearts are in the right place. Go ahead and vote. I won’t be condemning you for it but don’t be surprised in four years when we hear the same rhetoric and the same old tired arguments from both sides of the aisle.