The purpose of this article is not to persuade anyone to vote for any Democrat or Republican presidential candidate. I have written this article to reveal and report what is a surprise to many; and that is the fact that fewer women chose to get an abortion during the time a Democrat president occupied the White House. Various reasons have been given regarding why abortion rates declined when a Democrat is president. But, as this article will document it is a statistical, irrefutable fact, and one in which I am grateful for. Why? Because I am unequivocally, and unashamedly pro-birth and pro-life, from the womb to the tomb.
The ‘Whole-Life’ Vote: A Pro-Life Path for Black Evangelicals
For decades, many Black evangelicals have found themselves in a political and theological bind. We’re a people who take the Scriptures seriously. We’ve got deep moral convictions, and for a lot of us, that includes being pro-life on a deep, theological level. And yet, many of us feel totally and completely left out by the ‘new right.’ This movement just doesn’t care (and is even hostile!) to the very justice and civil rights issues that are at the heart of the Black church.
The Republican party has been really good at pushing one message: so long as you’re pro-life, nothing else matters. This single-issue voting bloc has become a powerful political tool. But that whole idea is just plain wrong. If you’re pro-life and want fewer abortions, the data actually gives you a solid, faith-based reason to be free in your conscience to not have to vote Republican or Democrat, every single time there’s an election.
Democrats have pushed a pro-choice agenda, that many Black evangelicals find objectionable. Yet, the data reveals fewer women choose to get an abortion during the time a Democrat president occupy the White House. I find that encouraging and the data fascinating.
What Does the Data Say?
The main argument for voting Republican is that their policies (like appointing certain judges) are the only way to stop abortions. But the data tells a different story.
It’s a statistical fact (albeit a complicated one)that the U.S. abortion rate has often dropped faster under Democratic presidents. As noted by fact-checkers, the steepest drops in the abortion rate since abortion’s peak in the 1980s occurred during the administrations of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. On the flip side, the rate flatlined or barely budged under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush (https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2020/sep/25/facebook-posts/graph-us-abortion-rate-during-different-presidents/).
Now, that doesn’t mean presidents get all the credit or blame, but it does shatter the myth that ‘voting Republican = fewer abortions.’
If the ‘pro-life’ party’s plan isn’t getting the biggest results, what is?
What Actually Reduces Abortions? (Hint: Not Bans)
If we really want to lower the number of abortions, you have to look at why women get them in the first place. And the data is crystal clear. The two biggest reasons are unintended pregnancy and financial struggles/poverty.
71% of people who obtain abortions have incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level, with 41% being below the poverty line itself (https://www.guttmacher.org/gpr/2019/09/us-abortion-rate-continues-drop-once-again-state-abortion-restrictions-are-not-main).
A huge majority of women who seek abortions say a primary reason is that they just can’t afford a baby.
So, the best ways to reduce abortions, according to the data, aren’t just legal bans. They are:
- Expanding access to low-cost, effective contraception (not the same as abortifacients). That big drop in abortions before Dobbs? It was mostly because of fewer unintended pregnancies, thanks to better, easier-to-get contraception, while they rose after the Dobbs decision through telehealth abortifacients (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/abortions-rose-in-2024-due-to-pills-available-through-telehealth-report-finds). Policies like the Affordable Care Act (Obama Care), which made this a requirement, are a core part of the Democratic platform (https://divisionofresearch.kaiserpermanente.org/contraception-aca/).
- Alleviating economic hardship. A strong social safety net like Medicaid expansion, help with childcare, a higher minimum wage… these things directly fight the financial desperation that women talk about!
So, a pro-life voter has a really strong, data-backed case for supporting the exact policies that are at the heart of the Democratic party’s economic plan, even though many of us reject the “abortion on-demand” policies of other Democrats.
The Theological Imperative: The Black Church and “Whole-Life” Justice
For Black evangelicals, we believe in dually focusing on The Great Commission and The Great Commandment. Focusing on economics, a safety net, and social and justice issues isn’t some ‘progressive compromise’—it’s the core of our tradition (Matthew 28:16-20; Luke 4:16-19, Matthew 22:36-40).
Often, white evangelical theology really zooms in on individual sin and individual salvation. But the Black Church, Black evangelicalism was born in the fires of oppression. Our theology has always been about community liberation, both social and political, as Jesus taught in Luke 4:16-19 (https://canopyforum.org/2020/07/20/the-social-gospel-in-black-and-white-then-and-now/). Often, while evangelical theology really zooms in on individual sin and individual salvation, which Black evangelical theology shares in common with White evangelicalism.
We follow a God who is justice (Micah 6:8). That’s why the Black Church has always been a ‘born-again, ‘social justice church. This ‘whole-life’ faith naturally flows into politics. Political scientists call this concept “linked fate”—that gut feeling a big majority of Black Americans have: what happens to the community, happens to me (https://mackseyjournal.scholasticahq.com/api/v1/articles/21848-black-evangelicals-and-the-democratic-party-intersectionality-and-the-myth-of-the-monolithic-black-vote.pdf).
“Linked fate” may be best illustrated when in 1960 John F. Kennedy and his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, intervened to help secure Martin Luther King Jr.’s release from a Georgia prison. Obviously, MLK’s fate, and the Black community’s fate were inextricably linked. As a result of a Democrat president’s leadership in delivering King from prison, since the 1960’s, the majority of Blacks have voted for the Democrat presidential candidate.
The Post-Dobbs Failure: Bans Aren’t Working
And finally, let’s talk about the Dobbs decision. After 50 years, it was the big win for the single-issue strategy. And… it’s been a statistical failure. Instead of going down, the total number of abortions in the U.S. has actually gone up to the highest it’s been in a decade since Roe was overturned (https://www.guttmacher.org/2024/03/despite-bans-number-abortions-united-states-increased-2023#:~:text=New%20findings%20from%20the%20Monthly,States%20in%20over%20a%20decade).
Why? Because in 2025, bans are full of holes. Medication abortion by mail, sent from states with ‘shield laws,’ means state-level bans just can’t stop the supply (kff.org). A federal constitutional ban against abortion could stop the supply.
I remain fully committed to a constitutional ban on abortions; and as I have in the past, I will vote for any Republican or Democrat presidential candidate who is serious about proposing and promoting such legislation. Unfortunately, I have discovered the Republican and Democrat candidates are opposed to a constitutional ban on abortion. Therefore, I have become a political independent, free to vote for the best qualified person in my judgment, because both parties fall woefully short, in protecting the lives of innocent unborn children.
The strategy of just banning it has failed. The only strategy left is to go after the demand, not the supply, unless we go after a constitutional ban.
So, voting for a Democrat isn’t a ‘pro-abortion’ vote. It’s a practical, data-driven, and theologically-solid ‘whole-life’ vote. It’s a vote that says the best way to protect life is to build a just society. One where poverty doesn’t lead to despair, where everyone can see a doctor, and where every single child—born and unborn—has a real chance to flourish. That’s a vote a Black pro-life Christians can cast and feel good about.
Wm. Dwight McKissic, Sr. 
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