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September 12, 2008
The Change We Need - Obama on Abortion
Over the next month I am hoping to post various articles on where Obama and McCain stand in reference to different areas considered in the directive issued by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) entitled, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship (clicking on this link will open the actual document in a pdf format).
The first topic we will tackle is abortion. The USCCB states the following in Faithful Citizenship:
22. There are some things we must never do, as individuals or as a society, because they are always incompatible with love of God and neighbor. Such actions are so deeply flawed that they are always opposed to the authentic good of persons. These are called "intrinsically evil" actions. They must always be rejected and opposed and must never be supported or condoned. A prime example is the intentional taking of innocent human life, as in abortion and euthanasia. In our nation, "abortion and euthanasia have become preeminent threats to human dignity because they directly attack life itself, the most fundamental human good and the condition for all others" (Living the Gospel of Life, no. 5). It is a mistake with grave moral consequences to treat the destruction of innocent human life merely as a matter of individual choice. A legal system that violates the basic right to life on the grounds of choice is fundamentally flawed.
- pg 834. Catholics often face difficult choices about how to vote. This is why it is so important to vote according to a well-formed conscience that perceives the proper relationship among moral goods. A Catholic cannot vote for a candidate who takes a position in favor of an intrinsic evil, such as abortion or racism, if the voter's intent is to support that position. In such cases a Catholic would be guilty of formal cooperation in grave evil. At the same time, a voter should not use a candidate's opposition to an intrinsic evil to justify indifference or inattentiveness to other important moral issues involving human life and dignity. - pg 11
42. As Catholics we are not single-issue voters. A candidate's position on a single issue is not sufficient to guarantee a voter's support. Yet a candidate's position on a single issue that involves an intrinsic evil, such as support for legal abortion or the promotion of racism, may legitimately lead a voter to disqualify a candidate from receiving support. - pg 13
The following is Barack Obama's statement on the 35th anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision.
Obama Statement on 35th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade Decision
Chicago, IL | January 22, 2008
Chicago, IL -- Senator Barack Obama today released the following statement on the 35th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision."Thirty-five years after the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade, it's never been more important to protect a woman's right to choose. Last year, the Supreme Court decided by a vote of 5-4 to uphold the Federal Abortion Ban, and in doing so undermined an important principle of Roe v. Wade: that we must always protect women's health. With one more vacancy on the Supreme Court, we could be looking at a majority hostile to a women's fundamental right to choose for the first time since Roe v. Wade. The next president may be asked to nominate that Supreme Court justice. That is what is at stake in this election.
"Throughout my career, I've been a consistent and strong supporter of reproductive justice, and have consistently had a 100% pro-choice rating with Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America.
"When South Dakota passed a law banning all abortions in a direct effort to have Roe overruled, I was the only candidate for President to raise money to help the citizens of South Dakota repeal that law. When anti-choice protesters blocked the opening of an Illinois Planned Parenthood clinic in a community where affordable health care is in short supply, I was the only candidate for President who spoke out against it. And I will continue to defend this right by passing the Freedom of Choice Act as president.
"Moreover, I believe in and have supported common-sense solutions like increasing access to affordable birth control to help prevent unintended pregnancies. In the Illinois state Senate, when Congress failed to require insurance plans to cover FDA-approved contraceptives, I made sure those contraceptives were covered for women in Illinois. In the U.S. Senate, I've worked with Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) on a bill that would make birth control more affordable for low-income and college women, and introduced the Senate version of Representative Hilda Solis' bill to reduce unintended pregnancies in communities of color. As President, I will improve access to affordable health care and work to ensure that our teens are getting the information and services they need to stay safe and healthy.
"But we also know that Roe v. Wade is about more than a woman's right to choose; it's about equality. It's about whether our daughters are going to have the same opportunities as our sons. And so to truly honor that decision, we need to update the social contract so that women can free themselves, and their children, from violent relationships; so that a mom can stay home with a sick child without getting a pink slip; so that she can go to work knowing that there's affordable, quality childcare for her children; and so that the American dream is within reach for every family in this country. This anniversary reminds us that it's not enough to protect the gains of the past - we have to build a future that's filled with hope and possibility for all Americans."
So this is strike one for Obama - he is clearly for, in a direct and proactive way, abortion, an intrinsic evil. More to come, next up McCain on abortion.
In Christ,
Joe
Posted by joe at September 12, 2008 6:26 AM
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Comments
What does all that talk about equality have to do about Roe v. Wade? The man doesn't know what he's voting or voted for, all he knows is that he is "Present". If he would get his head out of the clouds he would realize that Planned Parenthood is nothing but a racist organization bent at eliminating his own race. What needs to be set straight is, IF THERE IS NO RIGHT TO LIFE, THERE ARE NO RIGHTS AT ALL.
Posted by: Jon at September 15, 2008 1:43 PM
I hope you are planning on doing more articles and wish there was some place that already had all of the comparative positions on the full list of intrinsic evils: abortion, euthanasia, human cloning, destructive research on human embryos, homosexual marriage, genocide, torture, racism, targeting of non-combatants in the context of terror or war. Does your list include more? Does Obama (like Kerry before him) get further disqualifiers from the Catholic vote on the grounds of support for euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning and strong support for gay unions? I think so but have not seen all the citations, etc. to his platform, statements and voting record fleshing these items out.
Posted by: Dan at September 29, 2008 1:14 PM
Joe,
Please take care of yourself and do not make decisions for women. As a man you will never need to make a decision about an abortion. So, please take that into account as you preach to others. You may talk about being responsible men, using birth control as men, adopting children, etc. However, please spare women your oppressive patriarchal opinions. Just take care of yourself, and don't presume to make decisions for women.
Sue
Posted by: Sue at October 13, 2008 8:21 PM
Sue,
It isn't our gender that determines the rightness or wrongness of abortion. Abortion is fundamentally wrong because it is murder. I have the right, better yet the obligation, to tell a woman who is about to abort an unborn child that what she is about to do is fundamentally wrong and will only harm her more deeply. That's a fact...not my opinion.
Your opinion - that women are in some way the only ones who can determine the rightness or wrongness of abortion - is what is fundamentally wrong here.
In Christ,
Joe
Posted by: Joe at October 26, 2008 9:51 PM
Joe,
I hope that, as a Catholic, you are aslo against death penalty.
Please confirm.
Best regards,
Bruno
Posted by: Bruno at November 3, 2008 1:14 PM
Bruno,
I am against the death penalty. We, in America, have the means to protect our society from those who commit crimes that merit the use of the death penalty. Therefore, we have no need for it.
But in the hierarchy of life issues, I believe we would both agree that abortion supercedes the death penalty, if for no other reason than the reality of which poses the greater threat to life in its most innocent stage. Abortion is an outright attack on life in its most innocent stage while the death penalty involves the murder of individuals who, least we forget, committed crimes so terrible that our society believes they merit death. So while fundamentally unnecessary and therefore morally wrong, the death penalty should not be put on the same level with abortion.
In Christ,
Joe
Posted by: Registered User 
at November 3, 2008 3:19 PM
