Question to Congressman Trent Franks

On Thursday, July 17, I attended the Values Action Team (VAT) for the House of Representatives. Congressman Trent Franks, a republican from Arizona, was also in attendance. He is a very strong Christian and has been a consistent ally in the fight for life. He made a statement that resonated with me: he said that it is dumbfounding that we are debating whether or not a child should have to obtain parental consent prior to an abortion. When he was finished speaking, he asked for questions. I asked him this: “Your statement about parental consent resonated with me. The very fact that we are even debating this issue is evidence that our culture is sick, and the only way to heal a sick culture is with the Gospel of Jesus. What are your thoughts on that?” Representative Franks responded with compete agreement, but added a caveat: he said that using the argument of the gospel would not work in the public policy arena. I’m not completely sure what to make of this qualifying statement. If the only way to heal a sick culture is through the Gospel of Jesus, then how can there be stipulations? Maybe he was trying to say that, yes, the gospel is extremely important, but we also need to fight in the public policy arena; arguments about how Jesus changes hearts will not help pass just legislation.