Deeply Disappointing Election Results

It’s hard to find good news from last night’s election results. Sadly for our cause and our country, President Obama, the most pro-abortion President ever, will be our leader for four more years. Numbers of pro-life U.S. Senate candidates lost in the various states, including here in Wisconsin with Tammy Baldwin’s win, leaving the U.S. Senate in pro-abortion hands.

The next four years will see no progress in enacting pro-life legislation in Congress. The full implementation of Obamacare, with its abortion and rationing components and the HHS mandate, will have a dramatic impact on our cause and in our personal lives. There is also the potential that Obama will be able to appoint a new U.S. Supreme Court Justice which is heartbreaking news for the potential of reversing Roe anytime in the near future.

There is some excellent news which we cannot overlook:

1. Pro-life Congressmen Sean Duffy and Reid Ribble were easily re-elected, giving Wisconsin a 5-3 pro-life edge in our U.S. House delegation.
2. The State Senate once again has a pro-life majority and leadership by what will eventually be an 18-15 majority. Two of the 18 seats are still not settled since Rick Gudex is hanging on by a few hundred votes in one Senate seat and another will be decided by a special election in early December, a seat that will stay in Republican hands.
3. The State Assembly will enjoy a huge pro-life majority. Three Assembly seats, one pro-life and one pro-abortion, were decided by a few hundred votes each and are likely to face a recount.
4. With both houses having a pro-life majority and a pro-life Governor, prospects for some good legislation are excellent.

The other major win for our cause was the defeat of a Massachusetts ballot measure to legalize assisted suicide. This was huge as the proponents of euthanasia saw Massachusetts as a springboard to win in other northeastern states and eventually move to the central part of the country. Wisconsin Right to Life provided financial assistance and advice to help defeat this measure.

Wisconsin Right to Life as an entire organization has never done so much to impact the outcome of an election as we did to try to defeat Obama in Wisconsin. WRTL and National Right to Life went all out in Wisconsin, spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to win. Every dollar was spent with great prudence. Many generous people stepped forward to support specific projects. We cannot thank our supporters enough for anything you did to assist WRTL and to inform others about the importance of the election.

We have faced many disappointments in the long struggle to gain justice for the vulnerable people we defend. This year, 2012, is one of the major ones. But, you know in your hearts that nothing can destroy our noble cause — not a President Obama, not a Planned Parenthood – for we have God and the truth with us at all times. We must continue to work, to pray, to be faithful, and to have hope. We must rise from disappointment, follow the paths open to us, and continue our good and needed work to save the lives of the helpless. With great passion and commitment we will go forward to fulfill our mission to protect human life.

Barbara Lyons