Walter Suza guest column: The hypocrisy of 'pro-life' politics

Herschel Walker, a Donald Trump-endorsed Senate candidate from Georgia, believes life is about Christianity and abortion.

“On abortion, I’m a Christian. I believe in life,” he said during a televised debate with his Democratic opponent, Sen. Raphael Warnock.

If life is just the time in the womb, then to be anti-abortion is to believe in life. If life is about its meaning, then to be anti-abortion is to be religious. If life is to be able to eat, breathe, move, grow, reproduce, and respond to our environments, then to believe in life is to see life as larger than religion and politics.

“Georgia is a state that respects life,” Walker also said, pushing back against the allegation that he had urged and provided cash to a former girlfriend to seek abortion.

The allegation appeared to some as a likely “October surprise” in Georgia's midterm election. But Walker still enjoys a strong backing by the GOP. Still, the idea that Walker might have been OK to have his child aborted is a jab at his tough stance on abortion, which he has likened to murder. He's called for it to be banned at the national level without exceptions.

The allegation by the woman, who also shares a child with Walker, suggests that believing in life might not be sufficient to lessen a person’s hypocrisy. In his ad titled “Grace,” Walker says: “Warnock’s a preacher who doesn’t tell the truth. He doesn’t even believe in redemption. I’m Herschel Walker, saved by grace, and I approve this message.”

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The GOP believes Walker is worthy of redemption. Winning the Senate seems to be more important than integrity.

"I think we’re going to stick with Walker,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in response to a CNN interview.

“I’m proud to support Herschel Walker,” said Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.

The priority of the Texas GOP is to “abolish abortion by enacting legislation to stop the murder of unborn children; and to ignore and refuse to enforce any and all federal statutes, regulations, executive orders, and court rulings which would deprive an unborn child of the right to life.”

Walker will vote like this.

Gov. Greg Abbott claims Texas is a pro-life state, yet he is against new gun control legislation even after 19 kids at Robb Elementary in Uvalde were massacred with an AR-15-style rifle. Can a person who is pro-life also be able to ignore that firearms are the leading cause of child death in America?

It’s not just guns that endanger children’s lives in America. Many children in the United States are raised with a lack of access to food, health care, clean water and clean air.

According to the organization Save the Children, 12 million children in America face hunger. Black and Hispanic children are more likely to face hunger than their white counterparts. It would make sense that, if one is pro-life, he also would support eradicating hunger. Yet despite 52% of Americans being in favor of universal free school lunch, McConnell opposes free meals in schools.

According to the American Diabetes Association, in 2019, there were 240,000 children and adolescents with diabetes. Yet 53 GOP senators opposed making insulin more affordable for private insurers, arguing that the measure put forth by Senate Democrats violated rules for budget reconciliation.

According to the World Health Organization, in 2020, about 5 million children under the age of 5 died of diseases that could have been prevented. The deaths could be prevented with improved access to clean water and less pollution of indoor and outdoor environments.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that about 500,000 kids in America have been poisoned by lead, which originates from various sources such as lead pipes. And yet Trump, who supports Walker, also supported an effort to weaken the Lead and Copper Rule, which would have reduced the removal of lead pipes from the ground.

The GOP support for Walker’s candidacy screams hypocrisy.

If a person believes in life, then one would think that that person also would believe that it is wrong for children to die by guns.

If a person believes in life, then one would think that that person would also believe that it is wrong to make food inaccessible to children.

If one believes in life, then one would think that that person also would believe that it is wrong for children to be poisoned with lead.

If one believes in life, then one would think that that person also would believe that it is wrong for children to die because they lack access to health care.

If Walker and the Republican Party believe in life, then one would think that they would be consistent in how they vote to protect children’s lives in all cases.

That doesn’t seem to be the case.

Walter Suza of Ames, Iowa, writes frequently on the intersections of spirituality, anti-racism and social justice. He can be contacted at wsuza2020@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Opinion: 'Pro-life' politicians scream out hypocrisy