Fully mindful of the last couple of letters I have written extolling us all to be more forgiving to one another, I nevertheless must make one appeal in regards to the upcoming election.

Many who have read my letters will know that I am a conservative and strongly pro-life. I am not really comfortable calling myself a “Republican” or a “Trump supporter,” because I don’t want to be identified by my views on politics. Politics run downstream of culture and ideas, and ideas are where I prefer to focus my efforts.

And the ideas surrounding the issue of abortion are, I believe, some of the most important and deserve primary consideration.

Why? If we still had laws saying it was ok to deny black people the vote or employment opportunities, no sane person would say “Well, I’m personally against denying someone their civil rights, but I’m not going to impose that idea on others.” No. You would — and we have — come together as a country over the decades and worked this very important issue out, to the degree that we can in law. (Obtaining perfect conversion of the hearts of all will always be difficult if not impossible in this fallen world.)

But just as we began to undo the decades and centuries of true systemic racism in our laws, we began introducing another kind of discrimination against another member of the human family, the unborn child.

Certain states, before the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, began legalizing abortion, reflecting the democratic preference of the voters, one that was increasingly influenced by notions of radical self-autonomy, the sexual revolution, and the anti-scientific view that a fetus was a “blob of tissue.”

Then the Supreme Court stepped in and took away this issue from the normal democratic and legislative process and proclaimed abortion as the law of the land. Those who support abortion rights thought the argument was over, that the SCOTUS had spoken and that was that.

But the SCOTUS had spoken similarly in the 1857 Dred Scott case, affirming the right of slaveholders to have their “property” returned, and denying the basic human dignity and rights of Mr. Scott and all slaves.

But that decision did not make slavery right, just as Roe v. Wade did not make abortion right. The SCOTUS is a human institution that can and does make mistakes, on both sides of the political spectrum.

The fact is, however, that powerful forces in our society have determined that abortion is crucial to human flourishing, that to ban it would inhibit women’s freedoms and even be cruel to the poor, unwanted, sometimes physically or mentally challenged children that would be born as a result. It’s also a key backstop for the sexual revolution, ensuring that if “safe sex” fails, women and men both will have a “solution” to their “problem.”

But abortion is not just about the adults. Matter of fact, it shouldn’t really be about the adults at all. Just as we have many laws and mechanisms in society to protect children from abusive parents, where we prioritize their rights and interests above those of the irresponsible parents, we should do the same for the unborn children.

We should not tell women or girls or men and boys that the solution to a problem brought about by irresponsible use of the sexual gift is murder, for that is what abortion is. Murder is defined as the intentional killing of an innocent life. It is thus different from killing someone in self defense or even in times of war.

A human being can’t be more innocent than when they are in the womb. It is impossible for them to have merited anything but the most strident efforts to protect and save them from harm, as we do with born children.

Do you know what goes on in an abortion? I challenge anyone who is pro-choice to search the internet for just the written explanations, if you can find them. Unborn children are referred to as “pregnancy tissue” and the whole process is as sanitized as possible, but in the end, you’ll find that children in the womb are either starved to death, chemically killed, or simply torn apart. It is a gruesome, horrific “procedure” and is the exact opposite of “healthcare.”

Our two political parties have pretty much lined up on either side. Democrats are strongly pro-choice and fight any attempt to limit access to abortion. Republicans are actually a mixture, but mostly pro-life. The bottom line is that one party does not view unborn children as human or deserving of protection and the right to not be killed, and the other affirms the dignity of every human life.

If black lives do really matter, and they do, of course, then we should be united in protecting all black lives, especially those snuffed out in the womb. Kanye West and other significant figures in the African-American community acknowledge that Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers intentionally locate their facilities near poor black neighborhoods. While African-Americans only make up 13% of the population, more than one-third of all abortions (36%) are performed on black women, and their children.

This statistic would have pleased Planned Parenthood’s founder, Margaret Sanger, who was a virulent racist and eugenicist who believed “science” should be used to reduce the number of minorities and poor in America.

So, for me, in this and all elections, I could care less how obnoxious a politician is or how unsavory some of their actions have been in the past, for all politicians, especially those who seek the highest power in the land, are tainted by personal failings.

No. I look at their policies, and if their policies reflect a view that upholds the dignity of every human life, and especially the most vulnerable and innocent of lives, then I vote for them.

I understand that the abortion issue has been clouded by the issue of a “woman’s right to choose” and women’s rights in general, but those are secondary in importance to the life of the unborn child, just as the “rights” of the white people who oppressed blacks for their own benefit should have been subsumed to the cause of true equality.

And I understand that we have unleashed a faulty and dangerous view of human sexuality on our culture and young people by encouraging them to engage in sex before marriage. Given the ubiquitousness of non-marital sex, and the failures of birth control to mitigate the unwanted consequences, abortion seems almost necessary, right?

Wrong again. At some point we simply have to say that killing a baby in the womb is always and everywhere wrong, and that we as a society owe it those women in that situation to help them, and we owe it to our young people to stop lying about sex as if it were just another recreational option.

But just because the process of changing our culture will take some time and commitment doesn’t mean we can allow abortion to go on. It is an inherently evil act that must be opposed by a truly compassionate society that values all lives, especially black ones.

I guarantee you that if we stop killing children to solve our problems, we will be a happier, more peaceful society. I am willing to support any bill, any amount of spending to care for mothers who need help, to support their healthcare and options for either adopting or choosing to keep the baby. And we do this not just for the baby, but for the mothers as well. It is clear from data and common sense how harmful abortion is to the mothers.

I am not judging my pro-choice friends. I know the issue has become polluted by various erroneous concepts and deceits. I am judging the issue and the act, however, just as someone would judge the abuse or killing of an innocent black man, or the negligence of an innocent child. We should first seek to protect the innocent and then help the perpetrator of an abuse against human dignity to rediscover their own humanity and put down the gun, the knife, or the sopher clamp (a clamp lined with teeth used to dismember the fetus).

Then we can come together in true peace to work out the many other issues that trouble our country and world.

But, first thing’s first: stop killing babies.

Trey Hoffman

Peachtree City, Ga.