Students for Life of America is a non-partisan organization. Our goal is to abolish abortion by making abortion both illegal and unthinkable.

As we head into 2020, people are beginning to think about who to support for not just the President, but also for all levels of government. And while most of the pro-life candidates for office are Republican, there are pro-life Democrats running for many offices, including U.S. Representatives like Congressman Dan Lipinski (D-IL). I’m not going to tell you which Party to support or go through every single policy difference.

But I do want to make a point about why pro-life Republicans must support pro-life Democrats. That doesn’t mean voting for pro-life Democrats (if there is a pro-life Republican and pro-life Democrat on your ballot then you are very, very lucky!). It means speaking out in support of pro-life Democrats and making sure their voices are heard; it also means thanking and praising elected pro-life Democrats when they vote pro-life.

When Students for Life Action does advocacy and lobby days, they are encouraged to thank pro-life elected officials. It can be tough being an outspoken pro-life elected official, so we should always thank them when we can. Students are encouraged to thank ALL pro-lifers, in both parties. That’s why we went to Congressman Lipinski’s office to be the pro-life counter-voice when NARAL protested him.

Furthermore, we feel free to thank legislators that vote pro-life on a particular bill, even if they don’t always vote pro-life. We won’t be able to win on every single vote, so we should be grateful for the ones we do win. Plus, if they find out that pro-lifers are there to support them, they may continue to vote pro-life.

There have been pro-life champions in both parties. Remember that in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, Democratic pro-life Governor Bob Casey stood for limiting abortion through the law and the more recent Louisiana abortion case at the Supreme Court was defended with a bipartisan effort. On the human rights issue of our day, people of all political persuasion must and have worked together.

No matter our party, pro-lifers are in the same fight–to abolish abortion. If you study social movements, the ones that survived and thrived were generally the ones that stayed focused on their mission. The Civil Rights Movement counted both Republicans and Democrats as their allies (and opponents), and because they put aside partisanship, they ended up successful.

A pro-life Democrat who votes to defund Planned Parenthood or votes to prohibit abortions in the late-term should be thanked–and then encouraged to continue to vote pro-life.

The battle to abolish abortion will not be one because of one Party or one person; it will be won when pro-life Republicans support and encourage pro-life Democrats.

Imagine a day when BOTH parties are pro-life and use that as your motivation.