We Must Be Godly Again

Dear Friend,

As the new year begins, studies indicate that millions of Americans feel more optimistic about the future.¹ Many hope and pray that the new political leadership in Washington, D.C., will get our country back on track.

I share these high hopes, but our problems are more profound than economic challenges and national security. If America is going to be great again, we must be godly again. And to be godly again, we must stop depriving our children, who are made in the image of the Creator, of their fundamental right to life. Our Founding Fathers wrote these extraordinary words in the Declaration of Independence:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,

that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,

that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion for any reason or no reason, through all nine months of pregnancy, led to over 63 million innocent children losing their right to life.² We “massacred” our own future. When the Supreme Court finally overturned Roe in 2022, I had high hopes that the carnage of abortion on demand was coming to an end. But the pro-abortion extremists did not surrender. Almost immediately, there was a wave of pro-abortion violence aimed at churches, crisis pregnancy centers, and pro-life groups.³ We shouldn’t have been shocked by the vandalism and arson attacks. Abortion itself is a violent act. A defenseless child is dismembered or burned to death with powerful chemicals. We never hear the silent screams.

This month, January 2025, will commemorate the 41^st year our nation has observed the sanctity of human life. While we continue to celebrate the overturn of Roe, we recognize the battle over the sanctity of life rages on. For over 50 years, powerful forces have told women that their “right” to destroy babies in the womb was one of the fundamental liberties enshrined in our Constitution, similar to the freedom of speech or freedom of religion.⁴ Multiple generations of young women have been taught they cannot reach their goals of having a full life without the ability to kill their children. That poisonous falsehood has spread across our nation far and wide.

Long gone are the days when former President Bill Clinton said that abortions should be “safe, legal, and rare.”⁵ Today, destroying a child in utero is referred to as “women’s health care.” Pro-abortion groups urge women to “celebrate” their abortions and to brag or “shout” about them.⁶ Abortion has virtually become a “sacrament” of a perverted faith that promises death, not life, to its followers.

The presidential election in 2024 reached a new level of abortion “worship.” Vice President Kamala Harris decided that her BEST chance of winning the White House was to have the Oval Office standing on a mountain of aborted babies. Her campaign spent hundreds of millions of dollars on ads promising that as president, she would sign into law legislation that erased every state pro-life law in the nation.⁷ She also repeatedly lied to voters, claiming that Donald Trump had a secret plan to ban abortions nationwide.⁸ President Trump repeatedly said that he believed, with the overturn of Roe, that states were now the appropriate venue to deal with the abortion issue instead of federal action.⁹

To be clear, I want all children to be welcomed into the world and protected by the promises of life and liberty in America’s founding documents. We will work closely with President Trump to stop all taxpayer funding of abortion and to protect the right of conscience so that no Christian can be compelled to participate in an abortion. President Trump is expected to act on these initiatives soon.

Thank God that Harris’s abortion demagoguery did not carry the day. If she had prevailed, there is no doubt her administration would have filled every key post in government with pro-abortion extremists. Instead, President Trump has been naming strong pro-life people to key positions at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ¹⁰

There is every reason to believe that President Trump will also nominate more lifetime judges to the federal courts, comparable to his three Supreme Court appointees, who were part of the majority that overturned Roe v. Wade.

While the electorate rejected Harris’s pro-abortion extremism, voters in multiple states continued to pass pro-abortion referenda.¹¹ Pro-life advocates were massively outspent in these battles.¹² At the same time, many churches have failed to teach their flocks why God wants His children, created in His image, to be protected.

Some politicians, even those who claim they are pro-life, are saying that doing anything else to decrease abortions would be a losing issue in future elections.¹³ JDFI disagrees. Most Americans reject abortion on demand.¹⁴ We need to do more to help the public understand the humanity of the unborn child and assist women who want to choose life.

We have much work to do. As Dr. James Dobson said, “Our calling, as Christians, is to be a shining light in this world. This can only happen if we boldly step out of our churches and let the truth of the gospel shine in every area of life. This most certainly includes uplifting and protecting the sanctity of the unborn, biblical marriage, religious freedom, and the welfare of our children.”

I pray that you will join JDFI in renewing our resolve to uphold these God-given rights and institutions. Time is running out. If we fail to act now, our children and grandchildren will lose the precious freedoms that I believe have made this country one of the most exceptional nations in the history of the world.

As Dr. Dobson has reminded us, “It begins, as always, on our knees. Yet, it must not end there. Together, let us rise up and engage our families, culture, and communities with the fullness of God's enduring truth and grace.”

In closing, on behalf of Dr. Dobson and all of us at JDFI, I want to extend our appreciation for the year-end generosity shown to the ministry. Through your support, we are making a tremendous impact and reaching millions with a message of God’s redeeming grace and enduring truth. There is great work ahead, and we pray that God will multiply our efforts in 2025 as we uplift faith, family, and freedom.

Warmest regards,

This letter may be reproduced without change and in its entirety for non-commercial and non-political purposes without prior permission from the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute. Copyright, 2024 JDFI. All Rights Reserved. International Copyright Secured. Printed in the U.S.