The Founding Fathers’ Warning to the Pro-Life Movement on Direct Democracy

by Zachary Mettler | November 11, 2024 | Life

On Election Night 2024, the pro-life movement finally broke the abortion industry’s winning streak on ballot measures.

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned on June 24, 2022, the pro-life movement had lost abortion ballot measures in all seven states that had voted on an initiative.

Voters in Michigan, California, Vermont and Ohio had passed constitutional amendments codifying the “right” to abortion. And voters in Kansas, Kentucky and Montana failed to approve pro-life ballot measures protecting the right to life.

But that losing streak – praise God – ended on November 5.

Voters in Florida, Nebraska and South Dakota rejected radical abortion amendments that would have placed the “right” to abortion in their state constitutions. As we’ve previously written, because life won in these three states, “it is estimated that more than 51,000 babies will be saved from abortion every year.”

That’s a huge deal and is great cause for celebration.

Unfortunately, pro-abortion ballot measures passed in seven other states. However, five of those states already had lenient pro-abortion laws on the books. Two states – Missouri and Arizona – had enacted pro-life laws that will now be overturned because of their respective constitutional amendments.

Going forward, the pro-life movement should advocate for important state-level policy changes regarding the ballot measure process. States with pro-life legislatures should consider raising the threshold needed to pass any ballot measure to at least 60% or even a two-thirds majority of 67%.

Consider this: Florida’s abortion amendment failed because the state requires ballot measures receive 60% of the vote to pass. Amendment 4 failed by a 57.2% to 42.8% vote even though the pro-life side was outspent by over $100 million!

In contrast, Missouri’s abortion amendment passed because the state requires a ballot measure be approved by only a bare majority of voters. Amendment 3 passed with 51.6% of the vote, while 48.4% of citizens voted “No.”

Currently, 26 states allow some form of direct democracy – where citizens themselves vote upon proposed laws. Many of those states only require a majority of voters to approve constitutional amendments – a very easy threshold to reach, and allowing for outside, big money groups to influence results.

Photo from Ballotpedia.

Our Founding Fathers were extremely wary of direct democracy. They were students of history and knew that tyranny is often a child of democracy.

James Madison, the architect of our Constitution, co-authored The Federalist Papers along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay.

In Federalist No. 10, Madison warned that direct democracy is dangerous because it allows too much power to factions, by which he meant “a number of citizens, whether amounting to a majority or a minority of the whole, who are united and actuated by some common impulse of passion.”

He cautioned that direct democracy permits a faction of citizens to infringe upon the rights of the minority, writing,

Complaints are everywhere heard from our most considerate and virtuous citizens, equally the friends of public and private faith, and of public and personal liberty, that our governments are too unstable, that the public good is disregarded in the conflicts of rival parties, and that measures are too often decided, not according to the rules of justice and the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an interested and overbearing majority.

He continued,

A pure democracy, by which I mean a society consisting of a small number of citizens, who assemble and administer the government in person, can admit of no cure for the mischiefs of faction. A common passion or interest will, in almost every case, be felt by a majority of the whole. … Such democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.

Madison’s solution was to establish a republican form of government, where lawmaking is delegated to a small number of citizens, rather than to the citizenry writ large.

He hoped that through a republican government, citizens would elect noble and virtuous lawmakers “whose wisdom may best discern the true interest of their country, and whose patriotism and love of justice will be least likely to sacrifice it to temporary or partial considerations.”

That’s exactly what the Framers of our Constitution established in these United States, with power separated between the three branches of government and a Bill of Rights established to protect the rights of each citizen.

Unfortunately, 26 states have forgotten the wisdom of our Founding Fathers. Pro-life legislators should heed their warning and consider raising the threshold needed for ballot measures to pass, or abolish the process altogether. Lawmakers in the 24 states without a ballot measure process should resist efforts to establish one.

This way, the rights of the voiceless minority – millions of preborn babies – will be better protected and secured.

Through the Option Ultrasound Program, our goal is to save one million babies by 2025. Just $60 will save a life through Option Ultrasound. Will you partner with us to save lives from abortion?

If you are experiencing an unexpected pregnancy and want to learn more about your options, visit My Choice Network.

To learn how to defend life, consider purchasing author Randy Alcorn’s book Prolife Answers to Prochoice Arguments; you can also read Scott Klusendorf’s book The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture.

Related articles and resources:

Option Ultrasound Life Advocate

My Choice Network

Counseling Consultation & Referrals

I’m Pregnant, Now What?

Dealing With Unplanned Pregnancy

The SLED Test – Four Top Arguments

The Abortion Industry’s Winning Streak on Ballot Measures is Finally Over Preborn Baby Smiles After Hearing Dad’s Voice During Ultrasound

Photo from Getty Images.