One of the trick strategies to win public opinion in debating social issues is to introduce what is called a "red herring" during opening remarks when formulating the issues to be debated. The red herring is a clever tactic used to purposely distract people away from focusing on the real issue. It is information that may sound legitimate, but is totally irrelevant to the central issue and, therefore, deceitful and misleading.

In cases of protracted public debate held over decades about hotly contested social issues, the side with the weaker position will throw out many a red herring with the hope that the public will be drawn off into meaningless, irrelevant discussions. Once the red herring "bait" has been taken, the weaker opponent then moves to fiercely defend its red herring position pretending it is its most vulnerable and vital premise. By doing this the weaker opponent is able to shift the debate and public opinion away from the central issue and, in effect, hide the true vulnerability of its position for an indefinite amount of time.

Recently, in a Washington Post news article headlined, "House GOP Pushes New Abortion Limits," we see a classic red herring being tossed out into the public arena. The article describes how "House Republicans" are coordinating a campaign to begin "imposing new restrictions on abortion," and that in the coming months lawmakers will seek to "impose incremental restrictions on abortion" while "averting a direct confrontation over women's constitutional rights to obtain the procedure."

Notice how the red herring makes it sound like the House Republicans are going to do something about the murder of children by abortion while it deceptively diverts attention away from the central issue: murder. The politically naive will take the bait, and unless we make these deceptive tactics known to people we know a lot will fall prey to them.

Concerning the children doomed to be murdered by abortion, what this news article actually means is that children will continue to be viciously slaughtered by abortion in the coming months while House Republicans, the majority party, do nothing to provide them with Equal Protection under the Law.

The first piece of legislation mentioned in the news article is the Unborn Victims of Violence Act that we have already covered in our Legislative Analyses. This bill, which can be described as a piece of heathen trash, shows a repugnant contempt for both law and the unalienable rights of children. The bill specifically provides for the murder of children by saying that "Nothing" in this bill "shall be construed to permit the prosecution of any person for conduct relating to an abortion [murder] for which the consent of the pregnant woman, or a person authorized by law to act on her behalf, has been obtained or for which such consent is implied by law."

Another news article quoted a Republican lawmaker talking about this same bill, who, like Balaam's donkey spoke a truth saying, "There is a hole in criminal law." Well, there is a hole in criminal law all right, and it resides in the minds of these Republican lawmakers!

Lawmakers who blatantly deny that all human beings are created equal by crafting legislation that targets a group of people to be willfully and deliberately murdered by the "consent" of other people, are guilty of Negligent Homicide: "the criminal offense committed by one whose negligence is the direct and proximate cause of another's death." It is their duty to provide the children with Equal Protection of the Law. Failure to do so is their "negligence" which is a direct cause of the deaths of millions. "And all "...murderers ... shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone...." (Rev. 21:8).

Nowhere in the history of law does a "right" to murder innocent human beings exist! "Thou shalt not kill" stands for all time as a principal law for which no argument is required to prove its fundamental rule.

Therefore, the pro-life argument is against people who claim to have a "right" to murder innocent human beings (abortion rights). The red herring is the premise that the right exists, and one can erroneously then entertain debate that this assumed "right" to murder innocent human beings can or should be regulated (abortion regulations).

The pro-life central issue is quite clear: "murder is a capital crime and our laws are to emphatically state to people ... if you murder an innocent human being you will be arrested, prosecuted, and punished to the full extent of the law."

Since we are standing on such a sure foundation, why are our lawmakers committing murder?

Because we have allowed people to hold public office who do not recognize that all human beings are, in truth, created equal.


Jim Rudd
Washington, D.C., Director
Christian Street Preachers Alliance
email: editor@covenantnews.com