The defense of life deserves clear answers with no room for ambiguity

For over 20 years I have been reminding people on this blog that one of the main debates of our time is the defense of the right to life.

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That right has been threatened for years by atrocities such as abortion and euthanasia, promoted by activists of what Saint John Paul II aptly defined as the "culture of death," a desire to ethically and morally weaken our society to make it more prone to something as abhorrent as mothers wanting to get rid of their unborn babies. A monstrosity that has been instilled among us with all kinds of lies and fallacies.

It is often said of Galicians that we are very ambiguous, that it is not known whether we are coming or going, but I have the habit of being very clear in matters of principle, because I am frankly tired of our politicians starting to degrade them with nuances, reinterpretations, silences, imprecisions, confusions and uncertainties.

The defense of life deserves clear statements and answers that leave no room for ambiguity. Life and death are mutually exclusive concepts. A human being is neither half alive nor half dead. There is no middle ground. Likewise, there can be no middle ground in the defense of human dignity and the right to be born of unborn babies. One cannot be half-pro-life.

For the past twelve years (since its founding in 2014) I have voted for a very specific political party, Vox, and one of my main reasons for placing my trust in that party has been precisely its defense of life. Three months ago, I pointed out here what Vox's program for the 2023 elections (which is currently available on their website) says in its point 360:

"We will defend the right to life from conception to natural death and we will end the culture of death. To do this, we will begin by repealing the Euthanasia Law and the Law on Free Abortion."

This is the clarity I demand from a political party in exchange for granting it my trust. The opposite of that clarity is the ambiguity the PP has maintained on this issue for years, avoiding repealing the socialist abortion laws (those of 1985 and 2010) when it had an absolute majority that allowed it to do so. This ambiguity, in February 2023, gave way to the PP's explicit support for the 2010 abortion law, which considers the act of killing an unborn baby a "right".

I say all this because yesterday El Debate published an interview with the president of Vox, Santiago Abascal (a man I have known personally for many years and for whom I have great respect). One of the interviewers asked him: "What will Vox do with Irene Montero's abortion law? Will it repeal it if it comes to power and has an important role in the coalition?" You can see Abascal's response in this video at point 3:26. This is the English translation of Abascal's exact words:

"Vox will do everything possible to defend the right to life and will analyze the best ways to prevent Spaniards from being left in despair, so that there are no Spaniards like there are today, who see that the only offer they have from the government is to end the lives of their children or to accept euthanasia in cases of severe depression, as we have recently seen. We want to ensure that there are no Spaniards to whom the public authorities offer only despair. We want Spaniards to see that they have support when they have to give birth, that they have help, assistance, information, and alternatives, and that death is not offered to them. We want to ensure that Spaniards are not discriminated against in Spain, as is happening now, because we are the only ones offered this menu. Foreigners are given something else; doors are opened to them, they are given all kinds of social assistance, access to housing, access to hotels, and Spaniards are only offered death and despair. And we believe that That needs to change, and it probably needs to be changed culturally, as well as legislatively. People probably need to be made aware of the importance of human life."

Abascal is right when he says that this issue requires a cultural shift, in addition to legislative change. He is correct in saying that people need to be made aware of the importance of human life, since the pro-abortion lobby has spent years devaluing it. He is right when he states that his party will do everything possible to defend the right to life, including helping families in need. Certainly, if any pro-life liberal (and I am one) is willing to justify any kind of state assistance, it is precisely to save lives, because life is above any ideology.

The fact is that the interviewer asked a question that deserved a resounding "yes." Abascal simply had to point out that this issue was already clearly outlined in the platform Vox defended in the last general election. But Abascal did not make that statement. In fact, El Debate has rightly commented: "Regarding Irene Montero's abortion law, Abascal does not clarify whether he will repeal it if he comes to power or has an important role in the coalition." In this case, the blame cannot be placed on the media outlet or a misinterpretation. If a clear answer is not given, that is the logical conclusion.

On this issue, one must be very clear in expressing oneself. And after so many disappointments, any hint of doubt, however slight, worries me. I suppose I'm not the only one who feels this concern, but if I were, I would still express it, even if I were left alone and had to suffer all kinds of misunderstandings. The cause of life is worth it. Vox has promised many times that it wouldn't let us down. I trust that it won't, but if it did, my reaction wouldn't be to forget that promise and pretend nothing happened.

Some of us have already suffered the ambiguities of other parties (the PP being the clearest example) and we've had enough. I'll be very clear: if Vox were to change its position on this issue, abandoning the repeal of that monstrous law that considers killing the weakest and most defenseless a "right," I would return to casting a blank ballot, which was my option when Vox first appeared. And let no one come, if the time comes, with the same tricks the PP used first to deceive us and then to try to win back our votes. For me, the defense of human life from conception is non-negotiable.

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Photo: Hollie Santos / Unsplash.com.