Businesses & Abortion, School Numbers – American Family Association of Indiana
Changes in Education Enrollment
A new report from a non-partisan research organization called Education Next has found that since the spring of 2020, when pandemic lockdowns began, approximately 2 million students have left traditional public schools for other forms of education.
They found that, from 2020-2022, enrollment in public schools declined from 81% to 76.5%, charter school enrollment increased from 5% to 7.2%, private school enrollment increased from 8% to 9.7%, and homeschooling rose from 6% to 6.6%.
“Our polling data indicate that district-operated schools lost 4% of student enrollments to other types of schooling between 2020 and 2022,” said the researchers.
Woke Businesses Ignore Economic Realities
As you know, some Indiana businesses gave their unsolicited opinions on the passage of a bill restricting abortion in Indiana. Much like the RFRA debate, these companies make unfounded claims equating liberal social positions with economic growth. A few of them even hint at leaving our state. This virtue signaling is meant to scare Hoosiers, but it is likely just words or emotions overriding sober fiscal realities.
A new study from the American Legislative Exchange Council rates Indiana as having the 7th best economic outlook in the nation for businesses. We significantly outscore every state around us. Michigan ranked 17th best; Ohio rated 19th best; Kentucky was 34th worst and Illinois, 45th worst.
Where are these Indiana businesses going to go to find better business conditions? (The top dozen states for positive business climate are all socially conservative states, whereas the bottom five are all pro-abortion, socially liberal policy states like NJ, CA, MN, VT, and NY.)
Issues Driving Voters
Polls are mere snapshots in time, but a new poll from Rasmussen has some interesting results regarding the top concerns right now among likely voters.
According to the poll, high gasoline prices, which hit most people’s pocketbooks quite hard, are still the number one concern for 92% of those surveyed.
Other top concerns are also Biden’s energy policies (86%), inflation (85%), election integrity (80%), local school issues (76%), abortion (70%), and illegal immigration (69%).
LGBT issues ranked very low, as did January 6 and the Coronavirus.
A Theology of Life
One of the things that struck me during the special session legislative session on abortion was the many people who self-identified as Christian yet were supportive of abortion or opposed to restricting abortion.
This led me to believe that while we know most people base their views on the culture’s messages, it is likely that many have never heard a theological basis for the pro-life position in a church if they in fact go to church.
I found a very good brief item on this topic that I wanted to share with you that presents a basic theology of life.
“Abortion has divided our society like few other topics in recent history. The Bible places the highest importance on human life. God treats it as sacred and invaluable—and that’s because He created us “in His own image.” This is why the Bible identifies an unborn baby as being fully human.The Bible says, “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb” (Psalm 139:13-15).Some people don’t believe abortion is wrong because they see it as a solution to a problem. How can we solve one moral problem by allowing another, especially murder? That’s exactly what unrestrained abortion is.God created all life and He sustains it. He has given each of us the breath of life and it’s our responsibility to protect what was given by the Father in heaven. This is why the question about whether abortion is right or wrong is so significant. No man or woman has the right to steal from God or destroy the creation of life that belongs solely to Him.In God’s great love, He gives life that bears His image. Determining if abortion is good or bad goes well beyond the question of whether people have the right to terminate the life of a child. The real issue is whether people will insist on living according to worldly standards that oppose God’s law. True peace comes when people surrender to God and allow Him to guide their lives according to His loving righteousness.People who oppose God’s law often think it’s unnecessarily restrictive and difficult, but it is actually there because He loves us and wants to protect us, just like these children. God wants us to love each other, too. The Bible says, “If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. … Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law” (Romans 13:8,10).Whether you are hurting because of a decision you made in the past or you’re struggling with a choice now, please know first and foremost that God loves you.Are you ready to experience His love and see how deep it goes?”
Read More Here.
In Their Own Words:
“Rights should not be based on what people do, but on what is right as defined by the Moral Law. In other words, by definition, laws are prescriptive—they prescribe what ought to be done, while behaviors are descriptive—they describe what is being done. If everyone were to commit murder that wouldn’t make murder right. And it certainly wouldn’t be wise to discard all laws against murder because enforcement is difficult.” – Frank Turek
