Q&A with Lila Rose: Pro-life Issues must remain front-&-center in 2020
My Faith Votes interviewed Lila Rose, president of the pro-life organization Live Action and host of the podcast “The Lila Rose Show,” to gain her perspective on the current political landscape when it comes to protecting life. Lila is one of the most influential voices on sanctity of life issues because she is unafraid to challenge the secular worldview that has undergirded abortion worldwide.
The last year has seen dramatic contrasts between two very different ideologies on life playing out in state legislatures. For example, look no further than the state of Alabama’s complete ban on abortions versus the state of New York’s endorsement of all abortions up until the moment of birth.
Overall, though, Lila says 2019 has been a strong year for pro-life legislation. Years of work building a network of pro-life policymakers and campaigning to elect pro-life candidates has begun to pay off, with states like Alabama, Georgia, and others finally passing pro-life legislation like the so-called heartbeat bills and abortion bans.
Abortion may be the most important issue for Christian voters, and abortion-rights supporters are equally as animated on the issue. Yet, when it comes to getting out their message via social media, only one group seems to fall victim to biased censorship — pro-lifers. Big Tech companies like Facebook and Twitter, which support the abortion industry, are silencing pro-life organizations like Lila’s.
And with the string of 2019 state-level pro-life successes Lila mentions, no wonder social media giants have moved to censor her and Live Action’s more than 3.6 million social media followers. Every day they reach millions of people with educational resources that expose the horrors of the abortion industry.
Lila emphasizes opportunities at the state level, rather than the national level, as a key strategy that is seeing success. She suggests pro-life advocates focus on electing pro-life super majorities into office.
According to Lila, change begins to happen when individual states stop taking cues from the national government.
“Don’t wait for someone to give you permission,” says Lila. “Don’t wait for Roe v. Wade; don’t wait for anything. Do the most legal protection you can do today for the child and to defend women.”
As momentum builds in the states, voters should focus on electing pro-life officials into the national government as well.
When choosing candidates to support, Lila believes that reviewing their pro-life track record is just as important as listening to their pro-life rhetoric. “You look at not just what they say but what they’ve done for life,” she suggests, sharing how President Trump has built a strong pro-life track record throughout his time in the Oval Office.
The 2020 election cycle will be jampacked with a host of issues vying for voters’ attention. Lila urges Christians to ignore whatever issue politicians or the media say are most important and believes nothing should be more front and center than the right to life.
“This is not something where we leave our faith and our morals and our values outside the voting booth,” concludes Lila. “We go in there and we’re authentic to who we are and what we believe, because who we are and what we believe helped create this great country that we all love.”
Watch our conversation with Lila to hear from someone on the front lines defending the most basic human right — the right to life.
