July 7, 2022
The Honorable Eric Holcomb
Office of the Governor
Statehouse
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-2797
Dear Governor Holcomb,
This morning, as this letter is written, the rain is falling upon the parched soils of our state. After weeks of drought, the rain is God’s blessing upon us, and a reminder that His kindness comes upon the just and the unjust, in seasons of His choosing and not ours.
Such has been the blessing of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling in the past few weeks. Only months ago, it could not have been anticipated; and countless Americans had no expectation of such a ruling happening within our lives. After the loss of so many millions of babies in this country, and of 600,000 fellow Hoosiers in the past 50 years, we could not have predicted this kindness from God, nor did we deserve it. And five years ago when you took office, you likely never expected the realities of a post-Roe world and the decisions it would call for. Even for those of us who proclaimed ourselves “pro-life,” this was a world far off the horizon, and many of us contented ourselves that the stronghold of Roe was unassailable, much as we argued and fought against it.
Now, however, in God’s providence our thoughts have been overturned. Through events inconceivable at the beginning of your term, He has brought down a 50-year judicial monstrosity, and given authority back to the states and people of our land. He has showered upon us His mercy even while we have often faltered in our pursuit of justice for the unborn. And in so doing, He has given us yet another chance to fulfill our duties in caring for the weak and defenseless among us, not only nationally, but particularly in the state of Indiana.
As citizens, we recognize God has placed you in authority over us. Scripture makes it clear the authorities that exist are ordained by God (Romans 13), and given a duty to exercise judgment and justice on behalf of the rule of law and the defense of their people. (1) Accordingly, the Indiana State Constitution in its Preamble spells out the purposes of the Constitution for both the governed and those who govern:
TO THE END, that justice be established, public order maintained, and liberty perpetuated; WE, THE PEOPLE of the STATE OF INDIANA, grateful to ALMIGHTY GOD for the free exercise of the right to choose our own form of government, do ordain this CONSTITUTION.
As our fathers here specify, it is Almighty God who gives the right of self-government. For this gift we owe Him our gratitude, and our commitment to carry out the ends of self-government: to establish justice, maintain public order, and perpetuate liberty.
Abortion is an attack against each of these. It denies justice by denying the right to life. It brings chaos into the public order, as the past 50 years of division have shown. And it denies liberty in the most fundamental aspect to unborn children. Abortion strikes at the heart of our civil compact in the state of Indiana, and must not be allowed to continue.
We know the past several years have been ones of great challenge for your administration. Covid-19 was to all of us terra incognita. Your administration faced the dangers of a pandemic on the one side, and on the other the railing of citizens who were misinformed, short sighted, or conspiracy minded. Even those of us who are politically sympathetic have not been easy to govern, at times. And with this admission, we do want to express our gratitude toward you and your administration for your care and moderation in guiding us through the Covid pandemic. In the midst of a no-win situation, your policies were reasonable and prudent, and brought our state through the crisis in a laudable way.
In this vein, we ask that you exercise that same care now in protecting our state and its citizens. As you know, Indiana’s pro-life majority has not resulted in a trigger law to end child murder in our state. And so the downfall of Roe brings us, and you, to a point of decision. In this context, we ask that you act to defend the helpless in our state. Will you please honor your commitments, your oath to the Constitution, and most of all, your duty before God, by signing a bill that would end this bloody practice in our state? And not a token bill with extensive exceptions or that barely restricts the killing a few more weeks, but rather a substantive bill with real consequence, and that protects the unborn from the time of conception. Knowing that the advocates of abortion will rage no matter how small the restriction, can we not make the benefits of this bill worth the opposition?
We are under no illusion this will be easy. As you know, the ranks of those who wish this slaughter to continue are large, well funded, and influential. They will make it their vendetta to paint you as a bitter ideologue, a troubler of the peace, and an opponent of women. Yet long after such fictions have faded, the truth will endure—as will the clean conscience you retain. And so we ask that, in this struggle, you keep before your eyes the reality of the little ones being killed. As you are reviled and cursed, remember always that on the other side of this indignant clamor is silence—the silence of the unborn child, without a voice to protest the abortionist’s knife. That for every face of rage against you and your administration are the faces of little girls begging to be born, pleading for the same rights you and we and their would-be murderers have. And that on the other side of every twinge of discomfort and inconvenience brought about by banning murder, there is the pain of defenseless little babies being killed in the one place where law should most protect them: in the wombs of our wives, sisters, and daughters.
Most of all, we ask that you remember this is a struggle not for political expediency, but for liberty: the liberty of women to live with a conscience not ravaged by abortion, the liberty of states not to have their civil government stained by child murder, and most of all the liberty of children to exercise that most basic of rights: to live. This is not a struggle against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities; against those who have grown comfortable and callous with their trade in blood for the last 50 years; and against those who take their own convenience by depriving our mothers of their children, our state of its citizens, and our citizens of their life. The sword of abortion is not, in the end, an attack against foreign foes, but against our own people. These are not potential lives—they are boys and girls already living, with joys and pains and dreams and sorrows, fellow Hoosiers waiting to live their lives, and fellow citizens who are owed the protection of state law and of its chief executive. They are our citizens, and yours—and no greater verdict of your years in office will stand than whether, when you had the chance, you defended the lives of millions of innocents in your state, who ask only the chance to live.
When you came to this office, no one dreamed such a decision would be yours to make. But in His time, the Almighty has brought you to it. For we will all stand very soon before God, to be judged for the deeds we have done in the body. On that day, the most important deed will be whether we, whether you, have believed in the name of Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins, and so gained all other benefits of His life, agony, and resurrection. But after that will come the judgment upon our works—upon whether we have forsaken our duties and callings in this world, or whether we have fulfilled them. On that day, it is our hope you will be able to stand—first as one with faith in Jesus Christ, and then as one who has fulfilled his duty to his constituents: the men, women, and most of all, children who look to you for protection. On that day, may it be clear you were not ashamed of the testimony of the Lord who called you to protect the little ones under your care. And on that day, may your epitaph be not that you ended child murder nationwide, but rather may it be the words of our Lord (Mark 14:8) in commendation: “He has done what he could.”
Under the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ,
The Session of Trinity Reformed Church, Bloomington
Joshua Congrove
Clerk of Session
Trinity Reformed Church
Bloomington, IN
1. A fuller expansion of the powers and duties of civil rulers and their citizens as given by God may be found in Evangel Presbytery’s recent statement Abortion and the Church, at https://abortion.evangelpresbytery.com .
Please click here (PDF) for a printable version of this letter.