Leslie Salzillo
In a refreshing and extensive opinion piece, Christian speaker, mother and pro-life advocate Shannon Dingle publicly stated on her website and Facebook page that she will be voting for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton. She says she understands that some her fellow pro-lifers might see her choice as confusing and inconsistent. In the past Dingle has written that if she were to be a single-issue voter, abortion would be that issue. If so, then what has changed? Dingle says nothing has changed for her, but Republicans have did little to make any meaningful change.
Furthermore, they’ve opposed or even stalled measures that could prevent abortions by targeting the underlying causes, like poverty, education, lack of access to healthcare, and supports for single parent and low-income families. In fact, I suspect these reasons contribute to why abortion rates rose under Reagan, rose under the first Bush, dropped under Clinton, held steady under the second Bush, and have been dropping under Obama. As such, I’m not sure we can hold that voting Republican is the best thing for abortion rates in this country.”
Dingle says Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has been pro-choice for many years, and now is suddenly pro-life because he knows that’s what it takes to win the conservative vote. So she’s opting not to go by his word, because he has no political track record and his words are “inconsistent, unreliable, and highly subject to change based on what's politically convenient for him.” She calls Trump’s VP pick Mike Pence opportunistic and pandering to the conservatives when Trump’s own platform is questionable.
In her piece, Dingle stresses she is not ignoring Hillary’s pro-choice record, but she believes Trump isn’t anymore anti-abortion than is Hillary. She says the pro-life-abortion issue is not the only reason she will not vote for Trump. It’s more to do with the other pro-life issues where she finds Trump is the “most lacking and Hillary the far superior candidate.” Dingle clarifies she is not chasing the lesser of two evils. She is not only voting against Trump. Dingle says she finds enough to “affirm and identify within the positions and record of Hillary Clinton.”
“Aside for abortion – which I do care about deeply – I see the Democrats as the party that champions other pro-life issues more effectively and consistently. This is why I changed my registration to unaffiliated with any party several years ago, after having been a Republican for years, based largely on my abortion stance.What other pro-life issues? You ask. Well, if we call ourselves the pro-life movement, then we’re not just anti-abortion, right? I spoke at the Evangelicals for Life conference in DC back in January, and plenty of the speakers addressed issues beyond abortion. I was one of them, talking about the lives of people with disabilities. Starting with that group, here are 10 ways in which I find the Democratic nominee more pro-life than the Republicans…”
Dingle expands upon her belief that that “pro-life” should also apply to:
- The lives of people with disabilities
- The lives of women
- The lives of immigrants
- The lives of racial and ethnic minorities
- The lives of religious minorities
- The lives of the LGBTQ+ communities
- The lives of those with HIV/AIDS here and around the world
- The lives of our armed forces
- The lives of those killed by gun violence
Dingle has parented children with disabilities, taught them in pubic schools and is friends with many adults with disabilities. She finds that Hillary’s history with people with disabilities “shows her esteem for their lives” and was not only in favor of the federal law IDEA which requires the inclusion of children with disabilities in public schools, Hillary was a pioneer in helping to pave its way. Donald Trump, on the other hand, has several times ridiculed people with disabilities and Dingle doubts he’ll consider the rights of those with disabilities in his Supreme Court nominees choices and government department appointees.
And there are the lives of women who would otherwise get abortions. Shannon Dingle believes most that women don’t get abortions for “fun” and most women who have the procedure generally get them because they feel like they don’t have other options. She says restricting access to abortions “won’t change that reality,” nor will defunding Planned Parenthood. And making abortion illegal won’t resolve the issue. She does believe empowering poor and low-income women can make a difference in abortion rates and shenoffered facts to support her statements.
Dingle believes providing support for single mothers is also beneficial and important.As for rape, she states that Hillary started the first rape crisis hotline in Arkansas and helped other cities and states to do likewise, and Hillary has been a voice for abused and neglected children. Hillary Clinton also made positive changes for children in foster care, and Dingle adds that teen girls in foster care are much more likely to become pregnant than their peers.
In order to clarify, Dingle says she is not voting for Hillary because Hillary is a woman and says, “Those who dismiss Obama’s black supporters or Hillary’s female supporters for voting just because of race or gender are insulting (and also ignoring the actual reality that many chose or will choose not to vote for them based on those factors).” She is looking at Hillary’s policies, and finds many in which Dingle can align. As for Trump, there is a plethora of statements proving his belittlement towards women and he has never spoken about how his presidency will help or benefit women.
When it comes to the immigration issue Dingle says:
“When every single Republican candidate came out against refugees, most spouting inaccurate statements about the vetting process, this issue is the one that made me turn to my husband and say, surprised, “I might be voting for a Democrat this year in the presidential election.” He – a lifelong Republican – replied, “Um, of course you are. Have you been listening to yourself?” (Side note: In every presidential election thus far, I’ve voted Republican or third party.)”
One of Dingle’s greatest points (and there are many) is when she says, “Just as Westboro Baptist Church and the KKK don’t represent me as a Christian, the worst offenders of any demographic aren’t representative of the whole either.”She believes Trump’s plans for immigrants are beyond absurd. During her life, Dingle got to know and taught many immigrants who came to the US in hopes of a better life and says she would “break any law to flee for the well-being of myself and my children.”
Dingle is the mother of four immigrants and says she can’t justify a vote for Trump. “As someone who believes life matters no matter where you were born, I can’t say I’m pro-life and say I’m with him. I can’t.” She makes some great points about Trump’s slogan.
“For starters, can we acknowledge that “make America great again” is a slogan that only applies to white men? What they call the good old days were days in which women and our neighbors of color couldn’t vote or attend integrated schools or college. What they call the good old days were the ones in which the larger public didn’t know about police brutality against minorities because we didn’t have camera phones or social media. What they call the good old days are times in which white men didn’t have to admit any privilege or offer seats at any table to those with different lived experiences than theirs. What they call the good old days are an era in which my multiracial family couldn’t exist. As such, even apart from Trump’s racist and misogynist comments, his slogan itself smacks of an ignorance toward the reality that in the good old days, America was only great for the lives of white men and not others.”
Dingle outlines the differences between Hillary and Trump on several issues. One example points out how Hillary started her career fighting racial segregation in private schools subsidized by public funds, but the Justice Department has twice sued Trump’s real estate business for discriminating against black would-be renters.
“As the mother of four children of color, three black and one Asian, I can’t look them in the eye, say I value them deeply, and then justify a vote for Trump.
Not wanting to get into a religious debate about LGBTQ+, Dingle states we should all be able to agree that all lives are valuable and mentions LGBT youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. She revealsone study and says, “As someone who values the lives of those in the LGBTQ+ community, I am skeptical of politicians who never once address these hard numbers, no matter what their views may be on marriage or bathrooms.” Dingle says she is the mother of children “whose worth isn’t based in their sexuality or gender identity,” and she I can’t look them in the eye, say she values them deeply, and then justify a vote for Trump.
As the mother of a child living with HIV and children who have lost loved ones to AIDS-related illnesses, Dingle says she can’t look them in the eye, say I value them deeply, and justify a vote for Trump. She saw how Hillary has supported PEPFAR — The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and how it helped and Dingle respects and is grateful for Hillary’s advocacy for helping those with HIV.
Dingle calls Benghazi a “total clusterf@*#” and the email debacle the two problems Hillary might have, but adds Hillary admits errors and seems to learn from them — unlike Trump. The fact that Hillary has more experience in foreign affairs experience than any presidential candidate in this race impresses Dingle, and she reminds us that as Secretary of State, Hillary met with leaders in 112 countries and previously visited 82 countries as First Lady.
Trump advocates for torture, including waterboarding, and said that the military won’t refuse his orders if he commands them to commit war crimes. As with many around the world, that does not sit well with Dingle. She was very impressed with Michelle Obama’s speech at the Democratic National Convention/DNC and cites the First Lady’s line, “When they go low, we go high.”
In getting into more issues on what pro-life really means, Dingle says she can’t consider the stances of the NRA to be pro-life and she believes the best way to honor our troops is to give them a Commander in Chief who respects both them — and the laws pertaining to war, an issue where Trump’s views are once again fiercely lacking.
When writing about “unborn babies, “Dingle says she can’t accept that being pro-life is simply being anti-abortion. “That’s not pro-life. It’s not.” She says she can’t see how she can say “Jesus loves you” to anyone, and then voting for those who believe the lives of those unborn trump the lives of those living.
Though she disagrees with both parties on a number of issues including abortion, Dingle claims she didn’t write to change anyone’s mind. She realizes her political beliefs will offend folks on both sides. She wrote her piece it to show why she believes she can vote for Hillary and be pro-life. After laying out many of Hillary’s issues, Dingle links Hillary Clinton’s official campaign site, where the stances on issues are “clear and robust,” and Trump’s stances are “anemic.”
“[Hillary Clinton’s] detailed issues, as of July 29, 2016, as I write this, include a fair tax system, addiction and substance use, an economy that works for everyone, an end to Alzheimer’s disease, campaign finance reform, autism, campus sexual assault, climate change, combating terrorism and keeping the homeland safe, criminal justice reform, disability rights, early childhood education, fixing America’s infrastructure, gun violence prevention, health care, HIV and AIDS, immigration reform, jobs and wages, K-12 education, labor and workers’ rights, LGBT rights and equality, making college debt-free and taking on student debt, manufacturing, military and defense, national security, paid family and medical leave, protecting animals and wildlife, racial justice, rural communities, small business, social security and Medicare, technology and innovation, veterans and their families, voting rights, Wall Street reform, and workforce skills and job training.”
In her conclusion, Dingle writes that one reason she’s voting for Hillary is that she knows what and for whom she is voting. With Trump, no one knows anything for sure, except that he’s “a firebrand who mouths off and backtracks on a regular basis.” She says,
“Pro-life can’t just be about ensuring that babies are born — without also affirming their value after birth through our words, actions, and policies.”
You can read Shannon Dingle’s full 7,000-word post on her website here. Cheers to this incredible woman for bravely standing up and speaking her truth with compassion and integrity.
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