I am voting for Donald Trump, but I don’t even like him that much.  I recognize and acknowledge that people have legitimate reasons for criticizing Trump, and I agree with anyone who believes he is not a good candidate.  I do not support Donald Trump because of his character.  Nor do I agree with all his policies.  My one and only reason for supporting him is that I believe he is by far the lesser of two evils.

For me, his stance on abortion in and of itself undoubtedly renders him the lesser evil.  As a practicing Catholic, I believe that the most essential feature any candidate ought to have is a respect for the value and dignity of the human person from conception until natural death- yes, beginning from conception.

I do not have space here to go into a detailed argument against abortion. However, it will suffice to say that I believe that the fetus growing in a woman’s womb is at any time during her pregnancy an innocent human person who has a right to life, and I also believe that nothing justifies the taking of an innocent human life.  I view abortion as the taking of an innocent life, and see it as an intrinsically wrong and unethical act that can never be justified.

From a Catholic standpoint, no one who supports abortion can be said to truly respect the dignity of human life.  In fact, they can only be described as having no regard for such dignity.

I have seen fellow Catholics argue that Donald Trump does not respect the dignity of the human person, citing his rude comments about women and the recent allegations of sexual assault made against him.  I agree that Donald Trump does not have much respect for women, let alone anyone but himself.  However, the most essential component in respecting the value and dignity of the human person lies in respecting the basic right to life of each individual.  Hillary Clinton does not do even that.  She shows no respect whatsoever for the right to life of preborn persons.

Her stance on abortion is so radical that she favors it at any time during the pregnancy, even when the preborn individual would be able to survive outside of the womb on his or her own.  As a Catholic I can in no way justify voting for a candidate who is so intensely pro-abortion.

The fact that Clinton’s running mate, Tim Kaine, is a Catholic who is privately against abortion while publicly supporting it furthers my resolve to vote for Trump.  The Catholic Church teaches that abortion is wrong, period, and that it is morally wrong to support or promote it

Standing in stark contrast to Kaine and Clinton is recently-canonized Mother Teresa, who at the 1994 National Prayer Breakfast, stated very openly in the presence of Hillary Clinton that “Any country that accepts abortion is not teaching its people to love one another, but to use violence to get what they want. This is why the greatest destroyer of love and peace is abortion.”

I do not fully trust Donald Trump when he says he is pro-life.  However, it is certainly possible that as president he would enact pro-life legislation, a possibility which seems to be substantiated by the fact that he has chosen a pro-life running mate. Donald Trump does not have much respect for the dignity of women.  However, at the very least he has promised to protect the rights of all persons to life.

Hillary Clinton may claim to have respect for women, but in my eyes, her support for abortion shows the exact opposite.  Trump may disrespect women, but Hillary does not believe women have a right to life from conception until birth, which is worse than disrespect.  In voting for Donald Trump, I am doing what I can to protect innocent life, which makes this a decision I know I will not regret.