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Where Do the Political Parties Stand on the Sanctity of Life, Marriage, and the Family?

 

   

Every four years, the major political parties adopt a detailed statement outlining their views on the major public policy issues of the day.  This document, known as the party platform, expresses the shared values and convictions of the advocates and adherents of that political party.

 

While candidates on the state and federal level are not bound by the positions enunciated in their party's platform, the document does provide valuable insight into the prevailing opinions and public policy goals of the leadership and active members of that political party.   

 

We thought you might find it helpful to know what the 2016 platforms of the major political parties have to say about paramount issues of concern to Christian families.  This newsletter presents excerpts from the platforms on the subjects of the right to life, the sanctity of marriage and the traditional family, and religious freedom. We hope this information is educational as you prayerfully consider how you will vote in the upcoming general election on November 8th.

 

We encourage you to forward and share this information with friends, associates, and fellow church members.  We pray that Missouri voters will examine these policy stands from the perspective of God's Word, and seek His guidance in deciding how to cast their ballots in this critical election.   

 

The Right to Life

 

The Democratic Party Platform

 

The Democratic Party supports abortion on demand, taxpayer funding of abortion, and federal funding of Planned Parenthood.

 

"We believe unequivocally, like the majority of Americans, that every woman should have access to quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion--regardless of where she lives, how much money she makes, or how she is insured."    

 

"We will continue to stand up to Republican efforts to defund Planned Parenthood health centers...We will continue to oppose--and seek to overturn--federal and state laws and policies that impede a woman's access to abortion, including repealing the Hyde Amendment."

 

"We will support sexual and reproductive health and rights around the globe...We believe that safe abortion must be part of comprehensive maternal and women's health care and included as part of America's global health programming."  

 

The Republican Party Platform

 

The Republican Party supports legal protection for the unborn child, opposes taxpayer funding of abortion or Planned Parenthood, and opposes euthanasia and assisted suicide.

 

"We assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed.  We support a Human Life Amendment to the Constitution and legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to children before birth."

 

"Over a dozen states have passed Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Acts prohibiting abortion after twenty weeks, the point at which current medical research shows that unborn babies can feel excruciating pain during abortions, and we call on Congress to enact the federal version...We support state and federal efforts against the cruelest forms of abortion, especially dismemberment abortion procedures, in which unborn babies are literally torn apart limb from limb."

 

"We affirm our moral obligation to assist, rather than penalize, women who face an unplanned pregnancy...We salute the many states that now protect women and girls through laws requiring informed consent, parental consent, waiting periods, and clinic regulation...and basic health and safety standards in abortion clinics.  

 

"We oppose the use of public funds to perform or promote abortion or to fund organizations, like Planned Parenthood, so long as they provide or refer for elective abortions or sell fetal body parts...We urge all states and Congress to make it a crime to acquire, transfer, or sell fetal tissue from elective abortion for research...We will not fund or subsidize healthcare that includes abortion coverage."

 

"We support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life.  We oppose the non-consensual withholding or withdrawal of care or treatment, including food and water, from individuals with disabilities, newborns, the elderly, or the infirm, just as we oppose euthanasia and assisted suicide."

 

The Libertarian Party Platform

 

"We hold that all individuals have the right to exercise sole dominion over their own lives, and have the right to live in whatever manner they choose, so long as they do not forcibly interfere with the equal right of others to live in whatever manner they choose."

 

"Recognizing that abortion is a sensitive issue and that people can hold good-faith views on all sides, we believe that government should be kept out of the matter, leaving the question to each person for their conscientious consideration."

 

The Constitution Party Platform

 

"We affirm the God-given legal personhood of all human beings from fertilization to natural death, without exception.  The first duty of the law is to protect innocent life, created in the image of God.  Legalizing the termination  of innocent life of the born or unborn, whether by abortion, infanticide, euthanasia, or suicide, is a direct violation of their inalienable right to life." 

 

 

Marriage and the Family

 

The Democratic Party Platform

 

"Democrats applaud last year's decision by the Supreme Court that recognized that LGBT people--like other Americans--have the right to marry the person they love...Democrats will fight for the continued development of sex discrimination law to cover LGBT people.  We will also fight for comprehensive federal non-discrimination protections for all LGBT Americans...We will also promote LGBT human rights and ensure America's foreign policy is inclusive of LGBT people around the world."

 

The Republican Party Platform

 

"The American family is the foundation of civil society, and the cornerstone of the family is natural marriage, the union of one man and one woman...Traditional marriage and family is the foundation of a free society and has for millennia been entrusted with raising children and instilling cultural values...Children raised in a two-parent household tend to be physically and emotionally healthier, more likely to do well in school, less likely to use drugs and alcohol, engage in crime or become pregnant outside of marriage...The data and the facts lead to an inescapable conclusion:  Every child deserves a married mom and dad."

 

"We condemn the Supreme Court's lawless ruling in Obergefell, in which five unelected lawyers robbed 320 million Americans of their legitimate constitutional authority to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman...We do not accept the Supreme Court's redefinition of marriage and we urge its reversal, whether through judicial reconsideration or a constitutional amendment returning control over marriage to the states...We support the appointment of justices and judges who respect the constitutional limits on their power and respect the authority of the states to decide such fundamental questions."   

 

The Libertarian Party Platform

 

"Sexual orientation, preference, gender,or gender identity should have no impact on the government's treatment of individuals, such as in current marriage, child custody, adoption, immigration, or military service laws.  Government does not have the authority to define, license, or restrict personal relationships.  Consenting adults should be free to choose their own sexual practices and personal relationships."

 

The Constitution Party Platform

 

"The law of our Creator defines marriage as the union between one man and one woman.  The marriage covenant is the foundation of the family, and the family is fundamental in the maintenance of a stable, healthy, and prosperous social order.  No government may legitimately authorize or define marriage or family relations contrary to what God has instituted."  

 

Religious Freedom

 

The Democratic Party Platform

 

"Democrats know that our nation, our communities, and our lives are made vastly stronger and richer by faith in many forms and the countless acts of justice, mercy, and tolerance it inspires.  We believe in lifting up and valuing the good work of people of faith and religious organizations and finding ways to support that work where possible...We support a progressive vision of religious freedom that respects pluralism and rejects the misuse of religion to discriminate."

 

The Republican Party Platform

 

"The Bill of Rights lists religious liberty, with its rights of conscience, as the first freedom to be protected.  Religious freedom in the Bill of Rights protects the right of the people to practice their faith in their everyday lives...Ongoing attempts to compel individuals, businesses, and institutions of faith to transgress their beliefs are part of a misguided effort to undermine religion and drive it from the public square."

 

"Places of worship for the first time in our history have reason to fear the loss of tax-exempt status merely for espousing and practicing traditional religious beliefs that have been held across the world for thousands of years, and for almost four centuries in America.  We value the right of America's religious leaders to preach, and Americans to speak freely, according to their faith.  Republicans believe the federal government, specifically the IRS, is constitutionally prohibited from policing or censoring speech based on religious convictions or beliefs, and therefore we urge the repeal of the Johnson Amendment."

 

"We endorse the First Amendment Defense Act, which will bar government discrimination against individuals and businesses for acting on the belief that marriage is the union of one man and one woman...We support the right of people to conduct their businesses in accordance with their religious beliefs and condemn public officials who have proposed boycotts against businesses that support traditional marriage.  We pledge to protect those business owners who have been subjected to hate campaigns, threats of violence, and other attempts to deny their civil rights."

 

"We support the public display of the Ten Commandments as a reflection of our history and our country's Judeo-Christian heritage and further affirm the rights of religious students to engage in voluntary prayer at public school events and to have equal access to school facilities...Our First Amendment rights are not given to us by the government but are rights we inherently possess."

 

The Constitution Party Platform

 

"Our Constitution grants no authority to the federal government either to grant or deny the religious expressions of the people in any place.  Both the First and Tenth Amendments forbid such tyranny.  We call upon all branches of government to cease their attacks on the religious liberties of the people and the states, regardless of the forum in which these liberties are exercised." 

 

10/11/16  

Joe's Signature