IRD: Evangelical Left Seeks to Dilute Pro-Life Vote 

"Evangelical Left activists seek to harness the energy of abortion opponents and divert them to their own unrelated politically liberal causes." -- Mark Tooley, IRD President

Contact: Jeff Walton, Institute on Religion and Democracy, 202-682-4131, 202-413-5639 cell, jwalton@TheIRD.org

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19, 2012 /Christian Newswire/ -- Tens of thousands of Pro-Life activists will gather in the nation's capital this coming week, marking the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that swept away state laws restricting abortion. While the youthful and energetic group of primarily Catholic and Evangelical Christians will flex their muscle in this presidential election year, Evangelical Left groups are trying to splinter the Evangelical Christian and pro-life voting blocks.

Among their efforts is a redefinition of "pro-life" to include environmental causes and defense of Big Government. Liberal evangelicals and others are claiming issues outside of abortion and euthanasia as equally crucial sanctity of life matters.

Early attempts at this strategy occurred in 2011, when the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN) sought in a media campaign to rally "pro-life" supporters against coal power plants. Other similar "broadening" of the term has attempted to include global warming, alleged U.S. torture practices, loosened immigration controls, and single-payer (government controlled) health care.

IRD President Mark Tooley commented:

"Evangelicals should be wary of attempts to 'broaden' i.e. dilute the meaning of 'pro-life.' The Evangelical Left seeks to harness the energy of abortion opponents and divert them to more morally ambiguous causes.

"In recent presidential elections, evangelicals voted 65-75 percent for pro-life candidates. The Evangelical Left knows that confusing voters and reducing this total down as little as 5-10 percent could have major consequences.

"Secular liberal philanthropists are fully aware of a surging pro-life movement. They are shrewdly willing to fund Evangelical Left schemes to splinter this movement and peel away evangelical voters."

The Institute on Religion & Democracy works to reaffirm the church's biblical and historical teachings, strengthen and reform its role in public life, protect religious freedom, and renew democracy at home and abroad.

www.TheIRD.org