Much of the conversation about the midterm elections has focused on the anticipated “red wave” which failed to materialize in the congressional results. While the layout of the U.S. Congress is is indeed important, as it will significantly influence what the Biden administration accomplishes over the next couple years, it’s important not to overlook local election state election results. Dobbs didn’t settle the abortion debate, it merely pushed it down to the states. And the states are beginning to speak. State election results are more important now than ever for determining the fate of unborn children across the country.

And in several states, fate is exactly what happened. On November 8th, voters in Michigan, California, and Vermont all passed initiatives codifying a right to abortion in their respective state constitutions. In these states, shedding a baby’s blood will not only be legal—it will be a constitutional right.

Yes, you read that correctly. A constitutional right. In America—a land where those two simple words symbolize a priceless safeguard of liberty, one procured through centuries of legal heritage developed by wise minds who devoted their lives to their country and defended by courageous hearts who gave their lives for their country—we now use those two words to euphemize barbarous acts of child sacrifice. I thought constitutions were supposed to protect the rights of the most vulnerable, not consecrate their extermination. But we live in a world where men call evil good, and where slaughter is sacrosanct.

This should remind the pro-life movement of a couple important truths which have been easier to forget in the wake of the Dobbs victory.

First, our position is grounded in God’s truth—it is not grounded in democracy. Refusing to accept the “will of the people” may make us seem like sore losers, or it may make us seem  just flat-out un-American. But we have to remember that the voice of a people can produces a good government only insofar as it is in harmony with the voice of God, the One who created those people and established that government. Dobbs was certainly an improvement in the sense that it allowed individual states to ban abortion if their populations so desired. But in our joy surrounding the triumph of representative government over the tyranny of flimsy constitutional interpretation, it’s easy to forget a simple fact: just as unelected judges aren’t the determiner of truth, neither are elected representatives or the voters themselves.

If it’s wrong to sacrifice God’s word for the sake of one man’s opinion, it’s equally wrong to do so for the sake of a million men’s opinions. If every single voter in the nation approved abortion, abortion would still be just as wrong as it has ever been. Why? Because God says so, and God doesn’t care a whit doesn’t care a whit about what anyone else thinks. So neither should we. The game isn’t over just because the winds of popular opinion aren’t blowing our direction. We’ll never give in.

Secondly, therefore, we have to remember that abortion is not just a legal battle –, it is a cultural battle. As long as it remains “holy ground” in our society, society will expend its utmost to work around any legal obstacles it might face. (Pro-choice forces have seemed to spare no expense in providing residents of pro-life states with abortion options.) While we may have shifted the abortion decision away from the godless constitutional interpretations of Roe down to the court of popular opinion, we still face a gigantic problem: popular opinion can be equally as godless. It is our job now to direct popular opinion toward the will of God.

While all three arms of the pro-life movement (crisis pregnancy services, legislative advocacy, and community education about the truth of abortion) are still necessary, education seems to present itself as especially critical right now. Michigan, California, and Vermont didn’t establish these constitutional amendments because career politicians voted for them. They did so because a majority of their voters voted for them, ignorant, deceived, or otherwise. As the heart of a people is, so are its laws, and ministries that target popular opinion—such as Tiny Heartbeat Ministries in the Pacific Northwest—are hitting the nail on the head.

Dobbs didn’t stop the battle. It merely moved it to the adjacent battlefield. Pro-abortion forces quickly packed up their weapons, marched on over, and are now entrenching themselves in their new terrain. Let’s not just stand idly by.

Read more:

Six Pro-Life Endeavors Christians Can and Should Employ (IFI)

How Pro-Life Is Your State (FRC)