A question has arisen regarding the extent to which Lutherans For Life employees or volunteers may try to influence people to vote for a certain candidate. This seems to be an area of great confusion and misinformation, but it’s actually pretty simple.
Any person may, as a concerned, individual citizen, express their own opinion about election issues or candidates. They may be as active as they wish in campaigning, lobbying, or simply providing information. This applies as long as they are acting as an individual expressing their own personal opinion, NOT as a representative of a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. (There is an exception allowed for groups that are eligible to lobby under 501(h), but Lutherans For Life is not eligible for that because of its close connection with churches [which aren’t eligible for 501(h) either]).
When someone is acting as a representative of a 501(c)(3) organization, they MAY provide information about a particular issue and encourage people to consider that topic when voting for someone, but they may not say (again, when acting as a representative of a 501(c)(3)) that you should vote for a particular candidate.
In practical terms, what does this mean? If you want to tell someone to vote for a particular candidate for the following reasons, you MAY NOT do so under the name of Lutherans For Life—either as an employee or as a chapter or state officer, volunteer, etc. You ABSOLUTELY MAY do so as an individual citizen using a non-LFL-related email address, etc.
While it is VITALLY important to inform people about life issues and the sinful nature of abortion, suicide, euthanasia, etc., it is equally important that we remember Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesians to “Speak the truth in love …” The mission of Lutherans For Life is to be GOSPEL-motivated voices For Life.
Lutherans For Life produced an excellent brochure, written by Dr. Lamb, entitled Is Abortion an Election Issue? (LFL118T). You might order 1, 10, or 100 through Concordia Publishing House and use them as a way to open a conversation with someone who is struggling with the election decision or Life issues—or as a way to help answer some questions for yourself.
We pray that God will guide you in your voting decisions and in your conversations with others. We thank you for your diligent, faithful efforts to do God’s work in spreading the For Life message.