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It is an absolute embarrassment that Proposition 73, the Parental
Notification initiative, was defeated 53% to 47% in the recent
California statewide special election. It is an embarrassment to the
state that people would actually vote against a proposal that would
require parental notification before an abortion was performed on a
minor. What parent would not support something like this? What
parent would want a dangerous surgical procedure performed on their
child without their knowledge? No sane parent would want even a
teeth cleaning done on their child without their knowledge, so how
could any parent vote against Proposition 73? Anybody that would vote
against this initiative is not fit to be a parent.
Also embarrassing was the voter turnout, which was just 43% statewide.
Less than half of registered voters thought it important enough to
take a half hour of their time to help shape the future of California.
It would make sense that Proposition 73 would have drawn many
conservative voters to the polls, but that does not seem to be the
case. Heavily populated and very conservative Orange and Riverside
counties had turnouts less than the state average at 41% and 37%,
respectively. San Diego county, also very populated and conservative,
at least offset the low turnout of Orange and Riverside counties with
a 46% voter turnout. All three of these counties have some of the
largest evangelical churches in the entire nation and populations that
are overwhelmingly conservative Christian, but the results show that
most voters chose to stay home. It is a shameful statement about
Christians in California that they would do nothing when they
had the chance to vote against one of the most obscene evils in our
nation.
It is not unreasonable to view the turnout of conservative Christians
as a broader statement about the convictions of the Christian church
in America. For decades, Christian Americans have chosen to disengage
from the culture even as blatant evil overtakes it. The evil of
abortion has resulted in the deaths of 40 million innocent Americans,
yet the Christian church has largely done nothing to prevent it. The
Church should not deceive itself by thinking that God has not
noticed. Individuals pay the price for their sin in the next
life, but nations pay for their sin in this life. The Old Testament
demonstrates that God is long-suffering, but nations that disobey His
laws will experience His judgment eventually. If the chosen nation of
Israel was not exempt from the judgment of God, America certainly
should not expect that she is exempt either.
See
election results for all propositions here.
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