It is clear that pro-life advocacy, however, is not the reason why McCain became involved with politics in the first place - and this may be the source of some of the disconnect that some in the pro-life movement feel from McCain, at least at the moment.  Whereas McCain is on fire when it comes to defending America from the continuing threat of Islamic extremism, he has been less so when discussing his support for the right to life of unborn children.  

McCain's passion for defending our country from our enemies abroad (which is a highly admirable quality in of itself, by the way) is undoubtedly a product of his courageous experience as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam and his distinguished military service during wartime.  I highly respect the fact that this passion is what drives McCain's decades-long involvement in GOP politics.  

While McCain may not have the true-believer-type passion for seeing an end to abortion in America that, say, Mike Huckabee has, grassroots pro-lifers can influence McCain in his choice of judicial picks far more than we could ever hope to do if either of the leading Democratic presidential candidates makes it all the way to Pennsylvania Avenue.  Simply put, we have McCain's ear, while the blood-thirsty abortion lobby OWNS Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Now, a common objection to this line of reasoning in support of McCain is that when push-comes-to-shove McCain will not appoint a pro-life justice to the Supreme Court if he faces significant opposition in the U.S. Senate, as evidenced by his willingness in the past to compromise with Democrats on judicial picks.  However, this is exactly the type of situation where an organized pro-life movement can make a real difference if a pro-life McCain is in the White House, as opposed to a Democratic puppet of the abortion industry.  Grassroots pro-lifers let President Bush know LOUD AND CLEAR in the fall of 2005 that his personal friend, Harriet Miers, was an unacceptable choice for the U.S. Supreme Court.  And we got pro-life Samuel Alito.

Another objection to pro-lifers supporting McCain revolves around Senator McCain's support of embryonic stem cell research.  Embryonic stem cell research has been a hotly debated question in the pro-life community, with some long-time pro-life stalwarts, like Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, supporting this unproven research.  For pro-life Catholics, though, this question is not as muddled as it is for other pro-lifers.  The Catholic Church's teaching is crystal clear in this area: destruction of human embryos, even those that would "otherwise be discarded," is never morally permissible and is a violation of the dignity of human life.    

Yet, despite his Irish-sounding name, McCain is not Catholic and is not personally bound by Catholic Social Teaching.  Again, this is an issue where pro-lifers who oppose embryonic stem cell research could potentially make head-way if McCain is the next occupant of the White House.  However, if either Clinton or Obama become president, pro-lifers will have ZERO chance of stopping further federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

For reasons I outlined in a recent RightMichigan.com column (see: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2008/2/7/0654/87456), Right to Life of Michigan may - or may not - decide to throw its full weight behind John McCain's candidacy.  It depends on if the current pro-embryonic-stem-cell-research initiative makes it onto the November ballot (although this possibility is looking increasingly more and more likely, unfortunately).

Regardless, my fellow Michigan pro-lifers, we must indeed rally around Senator John McCain's candidacy.  McCain has the support of the state's most ardent pro-life political leaders, state Attorney General Mike Cox and Congressman Tim Walberg.        

So, in conclusion, I urge you all to consider what I have written, pray about it, and then get to work for the next pro-life president of the United States of America, John McCain!

"Now is the Kingdom.  Now is the Day."

Sincerely Yours for the MOVEMENT,

Andrew Shirvell
"Never Underestimate the Motivation of a True Believer"

About the author: Andrew Shirvell, Esq., is a pro-life citizen activist who writes a weekly column that is published every Thursday for RightMichigan.com in which he focuses upon Michigan pro-life issues. Shirvell attended Ave Maria School of Law - Ann Arbor, where he served as president of the school's Bioethics Society, from 2004-2005.  He also served as president of Students for Life at the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, from 2000-2002.