In 1858, as he kicked off his bid for the U.S. Senate, Abraham Lincoln gave one of his most notable speeches. The issue was slavery and the question before him was this: Could the nation survive half-free and half-slave?

Drawing from scripture, Lincoln began his address, “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved; I do not expect the house to fall, but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other.”

Lincoln’s words were prophetic. The Union teetered and nearly fell, but it was not dissolved, and after a bloody and costly war, America became a nation where all men would eventually become free.

This is an inviolable truth: a divided family, a divided church, and a divided country cannot long stand. Can anyone deny the obvious reality of our divided nation?

It’s a different era, but the issue remains the same, deeply rooted in the inalienable rights bestowed upon us by God: life, ordered liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Can we truly be one nation when just over half the 50 states protect the unborn and half do not? The Democratic presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, has made clear she wants a nationwide policy that would trample upon the right to life and eliminate nearly every pro-life state law. Don’t take my word for it; read the party’s 92-page platform, which clearly outlines their plans and priorities.

“Vice President Harris and Democrats are committed to restoring the reproductive rights Trump ripped away. With a Democratic Congress, we will pass national legislation to make Roe the law of the land again.”

First, definitions matter. “Reproductive rights”? Everyone has the right to not engage in sex or to use contraception; taking the life of an unborn child is not health care, nor should it be a right. However, please take note of their stated objective: national legislation that would make Roe v. Wade the law of the land. That legislation, the Women’s Health Protection Act, has already been introduced by former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and it would take the nation back to 1973, erasing hundreds of pro-life policy victories won over the last 50 years and imposing abortion until birth — at taxpayer expense — upon the entire nation. 

What is Donald Trump saying on the issue? He avoids it by saying abortion is now a states’ rights issue. While the states have led the charge to protect life, they can’t do it alone when the federal government has greenlighted deadly abortion pills, which now account for the majority of abortions, being mailed into every state — even those with the strongest protections for the unborn.

America cannot and will not withstand being half for protecting life and half for taking life. We will be one thing or all the other. That is why we must not focus only on the presidential race, as important as it is. Every elected office matters. Be informed and be engaged.

Tony Perkins is president of Family Research Council and executive editor of The Washington Stand.