When a candidate pledges to provide “comprehensive sex education” to school children and promises to promote – or to “sign immediately upon taking office” – the Freedom of Choice Act, Catholics and all people of good will have cause to question the sincerity of the candidate’s determination to reduce abortions, when these already existing limits have caused a decrease of more than 100,000 abortions each year. (cf. Michael New-Matthew Bowman, Combined Reductions in Abortions, with data supplied by NARAL Pro-Choice America)
As Archbishop Naumann and I stressed in our recent Pastoral Letter, “Our Moral Responsibility as Catholic Citizens,” we can never vote for a candidate because of his or permissive stand on abortion. At the same time, if we are inclined to vote for someone despite their pro-abortion stance, it seems we are morally obliged to establish a proportionate reason sufficient to justify the destruction of 45 million human persons through abortion. If we learn that our “candidate of choice” further pledges – through an instrument such as FOCA – to eliminate all existing limitations against abortion, it is that much more doubtful whether voting for him or her can ever be morally justified under any circumstance.
I urge you to learn more about the Freedom of Choice Act and its advocates so that you can make informed decisions in the voting booth.
Hat Tip Insight Scoop
Back in July Obama said “The first thing I’d do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act,” So we know where his real priorities are. No working towards reducing abortion, but working towards reducing people. The decline in abortion has been largely because of laws like parental notification and without those restrictions, once again abortion would be on the increase. Remember also that the Democratic platform eliminated references to making abortion rare, but in fact strengthened their support of it. But facts are no deterrent to Obama Catholics. I certainly believe there are valid reasons not to vote for Sen. McCain, but I can’t think of any to vote for Sen. Obama.
12 comments
maybe it would be better if Obama were elected, and then the balance of power shifted back to the right in Congress. That way, no one would get anything done?
We’re having problems over here with keeping sex education out of schools..
John McCain may not be the most perfect canditate, but he and Sarah Palin are Pro-Life, and that’s the reason I’m voting for them.
Obama scares me, the more I read about him. He is not good for our country. We Catholics need to inform ourselves much more about our faith, and listen to what many of our Bishops and Priests are saying. It’s a sin to vote for someone who is pro-death. God help our country if Obama wins. It will definitely be Socialist.
Be informed!
Relevant to this post, please read my comment at InsideCatholic, hours ago:
(9) Day of shame
October 02nd, 2008 | 2:02pm
“Biden will be the amiable, knowledgeable, and typically liberal Catholic pro-choice senator that he is”.
Today, whatever the result of this debate with high ratings not only in USA but globally, is a day of utter SHAME for us, Catholics world-wide. Why?
Because one of the contenders for VP is allowed to bear the name Catholic, and the distinction of formal-direct lawmaking cooperation with the historic-biggest genocide known to human kind, one that leaves Hitler’s Holocaust, and Stalin’s Gulags as mere apprentices.
Indeed not our idea of “a distinguished career in public service” (whaaat???).
It must be pointed that this is not a judgment, or inquisitorial fury for his not being publicly excommunicated, but a statement of FACTS:
1) His being allowed to name himself Catholic, is a walking-talking PUBLIC “SCANDAL , consisting of leading people to think that the public act that this person is doing, which until now everyone believed was a serious sin, is really not that serious” (Vatican Abp. Burke). Plus, this scandal incites lay people into losing charity to the clergy.
2) Is not the above mentioned fact, going to lead millions of ignorant Catholic voters, into voting for the Infanticide Candidate?
3) This gross act of scandalous ingratitude to Rome by the USCCB, is discrediting and disgracing for Catholics world-wide.
4) Hopefully, Gov. Palin will show the USCCB that they are not in an Ivory Tower theological-philosophical debate, exhibiting these three words: WOMBS FOR RENT to focus the scientific fact: human lives are being slaughtered in an “amiable, knowledgeable” ambiance of much heralded “civility”.
Regards
“facts are no deterrent to Obama Catholics”
Sad but true.
We also must weigh whether our vote will enable Obama (the worse of the two) to come to power.
I don’t think I can vote 3rd party so my conscience can be clear, if it means more abortions will take place because Obama benefited from a split pro-life vote – just as Perot ‘stole’ votes from Bush Sr and put Clinton into power.
And the electoral college and the 2 party system guarantees that someone from those parties will win:
http://www.dyinglight.com/index.php/09-19-2008/none-of-the-above-the-civic-sin-of-omission-or-why-any-vote-not-for-mccain-is-pro-abortion/
That title, along with a picture of the good bishop, would make a great T-shirt!
A couple o’ things:
First of all, stop perpetuating lies. (Apparently Obama Catholics aren’t the only ones for whom facts are no deterrent.) Obama did not support comprehensive sex education for kindergartners. He supported a comprehensive sex education plan that included different curricula for different grade levels. The only thing kindergartners would be taught would be about the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touching (as a way of helping to combat child sexual abuse). I would hope, in light of the recent problems in our church, that all Catholics would support measures that help stop sexual abuse.
Second, it was the REPUBLICANS who cut language from their platform about working to reduce the incidence of abortion. The Democrats actually added a whole section on reducing abortion. While the word “rare” itself might not appear in the platform, the language is at least a step in the right direction. (Whereas the change in the Republican platform is a step back.)
I do agree that Obama’s support for abortion, particularly at tax payer expense, is a huge problem. However, the 45 million number is misleading when talking about proportionate reasons for supporting a pro-choice candidate in spite of their position on abortion:
– That 45 million was not over the course of a single presidency.
– Not even an outright ban on abortion (much less merely overturning Roe- which itself is a long shot) would drop the abortion rate in this country to zero.
The numbers to compare for a judgment on proportionality is the likely difference in the numbers of abortions that would result from an Obama administration vs that of a McCain administration. I think it quite plausible that the difference will be much smaller than the number of innocents killed in George W. Bush’s wars. Given McCain’s commitment to continuing these wars and his repeated cryptic promises that there will be “other wars”, I call that a proportionate reason.
OK, let me back down a bit and eat some crow. I misread the initial post. It says “school children” not “kindergarteners” so it is incorrect to make the accusation of perpetuating lies. I do apologize. (Note however that the McCain/Palin campaign which has repeatedly made the kindergarten accusation and it is being picked up in a lot of non-mainstream media.)
In the hopes of perpetuating a more civil conversation I promise henceforth in my postings here to tone down the rhetoric. (I don’t know what it is about these blogs that brings that out-I’m usually not a hotheaded or uncivil person.)
If you can excuse the caddishness of my first post, I would like to hear any thoughts anyone has on my more (or less, as you may be inclined to think) substantive points.
Mea cupla.
“Reducing abortions” is pure smokescreen. If one believes there is nothing wrong with abortion, then there is no need to reduce them.
Is helpful to concentrate, coolheadedly, in FACTS:
1) How many swallow the utter oxymoron of…
The Infanticide Candidate will reduce abortions by promoting abortion?
2) In other words, is not that “to sign immediately upon taking office” – the Freedom of Choice Act FOCA (to eliminate all existing limitations against abortion)?
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