Published May 1, 2026
We once had philosophers as our elected officials, first-rate intellectuals like John Adams, James Madison, and Abraham Lincoln, whose learned writings and speeches reveal profound moral depth. Disagree with them where you will, but their minds are worthy of respect.
Now contrast those intellectual titans with remarks made by Michigan Democrat and Congressman Shri Thaneder: “My favorite kind of abortion is the kind that’s safe, legal, accessible, and none of your damn business to regulate. And no amount of fearmongering by describing what goes on to a half-ounce fetus with no consciousness, self-awareness, or feeling of pain is going to change that.”
Thaneder’s astounding remarks came in the aftermath of a galling exchange between Rep. Brandon Gill and a pro-abortion professor testifying in Congress. That short, two-minute exchange is worth watching in full, especially as Rep. Gill questions the professor on what would be her “favorite” method of abortion, from which he proceeds to describe in gory detail what different abortion procedures entail.
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Andrew T. Walker, Ph.D., is a Fellow in the Evangelicals and Civic Life Program at The Ethics and Public Policy Center. He is also the Dean of the School of Theology and Professor of Christian Ethics and Public Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and the founding Managing Editor of WORLD Opinions. He co-hosts The Bully Pulpit, a weekly podcast exploring faith, culture, and politics from a conservative Christian perspective.
