By John Michener

The Republican Party is symbolized by an elephant. The expression that there is an “elephant in the room” refers to an obvious thing being ignored – the thing no one wants to talk about. Therefore, the elephant in the womb is the truth that Republican pro-life policies are perpetuating the practice of murder by abortion in states that are controlled by Republicans.

Here’s a recent example. Oklahoma’s newly selected Republican Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Kyle Hilbert told Oklahoma Voice, “When there’s not any reported abortions, I don’t know how you further reduce from zero… We’ve done a great job of standing up for unborn children in Oklahoma, and so I feel confident I know where our laws are.” Notice he speaks only of “reported abortions.” Since no state requires or collects reports of self-induced abortions, Hilbert is playing disingenuous word games.

A new report from the Foundation to Abolish Abortion, titled Babies Unprotected: An Analysis of Self-Induced Abortion Numbers in States with “Bans” compiles data from the Journal of the American Medical Association, the New York Times, and the Society of Family Planning. The report offers a conservative estimate of at least 71,100 abortions by the telehealth method alone in 2024 in states with “bans,” which includes thousands in Oklahoma. The report (faa.life/sma) is a must-read for any politician who claims to oppose abortion.

Now that these policies have been enacted, the key to keeping them in place is silence – the silence of rank-and-file pro-lifers who think abortion was defeated with the overturn of Roe. And the silence of elected Republicans who have placated both sides by formalizing the appearance of banning abortion, while at the same time promoting its practice by removing all penalties for perpetrators. The new status quo is becoming more firmly entrenched as each season of silence passes by. This pernicious silence must be broken.

A foundational principle of law in the United States, derived from natural law and the scriptures, is that silence equals consent. Consequently, the principle is deeply rooted in our culture, from tradition to formal laws of our republic. Here are a few examples that you will recognize.

While attending a wedding, you might have heard the minister say something like this: “If anyone present knows of any reason that this couple should not be joined in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace.” This tradition stems from the Law of Moses concerning vows: “If a daughter still living in her father’s house binds herself with a vow…and her father hears about it but says nothing, then all her vows will stand. But if her father forbids her when he hears about it, none of her vows will stand; Yehovah will release her…” (Num. 30:3-5).

A naive girl might make a rash promise, but a father can protect her from making a life-altering mistake by stepping in as soon as he hears of it. But if he remains silent, the vow stands. In our culture we have expanded this duty to the whole group of witnesses at a marriage ceremony. Even though a pledge has been made in the form of an engagement, when the minister says,“ Speak now or forever hold your peace,” anyone who knows of a moral or legal reason why the wedding should not proceed ought to speak up, because if he holds his tongue, then as a witness, he is approving of the marriage vows. Silence is consent.

This principle is formalized in statutes of limitations when it comes to criminal, contract, and property law. One cannot take decades to claim a wrong has been committed. For example, there are time limits on the collection of a debt, and long-time squatters gain a right to real estate. By not speaking up and making a legal claim in a timely fashion, lenders and landowners consent to the status quo.

This concept is also recognized in how federal laws are enacted. Per the U.S. Constitution, the President’s silence on congressional actions equals his consent to them: “If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten Days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the Same shall be a Law, in like Manner as if he had signed it” (Art. 1 Sec. 7).

Silent consent is much more than saying, “Oh, all right; I guess I will go along.” No; silence is approval. It is positive agreement and support. Paul himself did not throw a stone at Stephen, but neither did he say or do anything to stop his execution. In fact, Paul said, “I was personally standing by and consenting and approving and guarding the garments of those who slew him” (Acts 22:20). Furthermore, in the eyes of God, if you consent to sin, you share in the guilt. You become an accessory to the crime and will likewise be punished. Consider these scriptures: “Anyone refusing to speak up, even though he was an eyewitness or knew what happened, is guilty” (Lev. 5:1). “Whoever says to a guilty person, ‘You are innocent,’ will be cursed by people and condemned by nations” (Prov. 24:24). “You are a poor specimen if you can’t stand the pressure of adversity. Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; don’t stand back and let them die. Don’t try to deny responsibility by saying you didn’t know about it. For God, who knows all hearts, knows yours, and he knows you knew! And he will reward everyone according to his deeds” (Prov. 24:10-12).

This scripture directly parallels our current context of abortion: “If the members of the community close their eyes when that man sacrifices one of his children to Molech…I myself will set my face against him and his family and will cut them off from their people together with all who follow him in prostituting themselves to Molech” (Lev. 20:1-5).

At this point you might be imagining how you personally have or have not spoken up regarding the genocide of your preborn neighbors, but let me turn your attention to our elected officials. You and I as citizens have only limited ways in which we can speak up and take action, but our elected officials have legally prescribed powers, authoritative ways, to speak up and enact justice. In fact, it is their sacred duty to protect innocent lives in their jurisdictions. Yet most, like Paul, stand silently by approving and guarding the personal status of those who slay their children with stones of abortion.

A legislator ought to author or coauthor a bill to criminalize all elective abortion. If he does not, then he is being silent. Every session that a legislator fails to author such a bill, he consents to and approves of murder by abortion. Thank you, State Senators Dusty Deevers and Warren Hamilton, for breaking the silence by co-authoring Senate Bill 456, the Abolition of Abortion Act. Shame on those who do not co-author it, do not hear it, or vote against it.

A judge ought to accept a case that allows him to highlight the constitutional mandate of a right to life and equal protection of the law. When he does not, his silence consents to and approves of murder by abortion.

A governor ought to use his bully pulpit to set the agenda of his political party to abolish abortion. Every time a governor makes a State of the State speech in which he fails to call for the abolition of abortion, he is being silent. Every day that a governor fails to use executive orders to stop the bloodshed in his state, he consents to and approves of murder by abortion.

Do you see how our elected officials are not merely silent, but are consenting? What are we to do? The prophet Isaiah said, “Seek justice; rebuke the oppressor…” In the context of abortion, who is the oppressor of the preborn? First, it is their parents who slay them. Second, it is the elected officials who refuse to protect them. Finally, it is all those who remain silent. But we are also commanded to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Obviously, the preborn are our neighbors, but so, too, are the parents who kill them, and the politicians who protect the parents. The oppressors are also our neighbors. Is it loving to rebuke them as Isaiah directed? Yes. Isaiah was right. He knew the Law of Moses: “Rebuke your neighbor strongly so you will not be held responsible for his sin… Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Lev. 19:17-18). It is loving your guilty neighbors to confront them directly over their contemplated or committed sin of abortion. It is loving your elected neighbors to rebuke them strongly for their sin of silence in the face of their magisterial duty to abolish abortion. One of the ways in which we are to love our neighbors is by confronting them when they sin, whether they are fellow citizens, or elected officials. And if we do not, then we, too, are guilty. Our silence is consent.

When you rebuke the magistrate for his silence, do not be surprised when he cites polls that indicate abortion is supported by a majority of the population and claims that he cannot win support for abolishing abortion. Do not be surprised when he responds, “I’m just doing my job by upholding the will of the people. It’s what the majority wants.” It is at this point that you might remind him, “Neither shall you follow the multitude in doing evil” (Exod. 23:2).

Dear fellow citizen, Albert Einstein said, “The world is in greater peril from those who tolerate or encourage evil than from those who actually commit it.” Our personal silence is consent. Now is the time to repent and speak up – to our friends and family, and to our elected officials.

Dear elected official, Leonardo da Vinci said, “He who does not punish evil, commands it to be done.” Your laws lie to guilty parents who sacrifice their preborn children to Molech and say to them: “You are innocent.”

Maybe no one wants to talk about it. Maybe everyone wants to pretend it is not there. But there is an elephant in the womb trampling innocent preborn humans to death. The silence of judges, legislators, and chief executives is consent.

John Michener is the Director of Oklahomans United for Life (OUL). You can contact him at:

john.michener@oku4life.org