Some Questions for Matthew25.org: Part II

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What does it mean to “promote life with dignity”? And which presidential ticket does that best? This is the first item on the list that Matthew25.org says it values in its quest to care for “the least of these”. I hate to be “Mr. Obvious”, but at least on this point, isn’t it a no-brainer? Let’s see: Barack Obama says that there are some circumstances when a baby can be seen as “punishment”, notably when a teenage girl “makes a mistake”. Further, Mr. Obama has, of course, won the support of NARAL and, presumably, every other “abortion rights” group out there. Beyond this, Mr. Obama voted, in the Illinois legislature, against a bill that was virtually identical to the Born Alive Infants Protection Act bill introduced to Congress (a bill which he said he’d support, but which is so utterly similar to the Illinois bill that it raises the question of “why would he support a Congressional bill that mirrors a state bill he voted against”—unless, of course, he doesn’t want to appear to be on the absolutely extreme end of the issue?).

Joe Biden? He’s a Catholic who “believes” abortion is wrong, but who doesn’t believe he can “impose” that viewpoint on America’s diverse people—the same tired, silly argument that Jimmy Carter used in the 70’s. It was a copout then; it’s a copout now; if Abraham Lincoln had used that same line of reasoning regarding slavery, would that have been OK with Joe Biden?

Contrast the records of Obama and Biden with not simply the voting records of John McCain and Sarah Palin, but with the actual life-experience commitments of these two. I posted some time back about John McCain’s deeply personal commitment to the sanctity of life; additionally, he has an admirable voting record on the subject, save for a disagreement I have with him on embryonic stem-cell research. Sarah Palin? Talk about walking the walk! Informed that her child would be born with Down’s Syndrome, a condition that causes the significant majority of parents to abort such children, Todd and Sarah Palin chose life and gave birth to Trig. Faced then with the uncomfortable and embarrassing nature of her unmarried daughter’s pregnancy, the Palins could have tried to find a way to “quietly” end Bristol’s pregnancy, but instead, they’ve chosen to stand by their daughter, and she is carrying this baby to term. Nobody would argue that unmarried 17-year-olds ought to be having babies, but killing the fetus compounds the problem, and the Palins are courageously standing by their daughter and her boyfriend/fiancé in whatever ways they can.

The truth is that “the least of these” must be understood as including those who cannot speak for themselves, and I agree with Matthew25.org: we must by all means “promote life with dignity”. By this criterion, Obama/Biden constitutes a terrible choice, and McCain/Palin an exemplary one. More later…

1 Comment

  1. Laurie on September 17, 2008 at 1:56 am

    The term “fetus” sounds like it belongs in a science book – I never heard it used until Roe vs. Wade – a woman says she’s having a baby, not a fetus! People don’t give “fetus showers”, and they don’t buy “fetus clothes” – it’s such a transparent effort to dehumanize babies and make them feel better about destroying them.

    Norma McCorvey, the “Jane Roe” of Roe vs. Wade, is now a member of the pro-life movement and supports making abortion illegal. In 1995, she testified to Congress:

    “It was my pseudonym, Jane Roe, which had been used to create the “right” to abortion out of legal thin air. But Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee never told me that what I was signing would allow women to come up to me 15, 20 years later and say, “Thank you for allowing me to have my five or six abortions. Without you, it wouldn’t have been possible.” Sarah never mentioned women using abortions as a form of birth control. We talked about truly desperate and needy women, not women already wearing maternity clothes.”

    In her book “Won by Love”, she wrote:

    “I was sitting in O.R.’s offices when I noticed a fetal development poster. The progression was so obvious, the eyes were so sweet. It hurt my heart, just looking at them. I ran outside and finally, it dawned on me. “Norma,” I said to myself, “They’re right.” I had worked with pregnant women for years. I had been through three pregnancies and deliveries myself. I should have known. Yet something in that poster made me lose my breath. I kept seeing the picture of that tiny, 10-week-old embryo, and I said to myself, that’s a baby! It’s as if blinders just fell off my eyes and I suddenly understood the truth–that’s a baby!”

    I felt crushed under the truth of this realization. I had to face up to the awful reality. Abortion wasn’t about “products of conception.” It wasn’t about “missed periods.” It was about children being killed in their mother’s wombs. All those years I was wrong. Signing that affidavit, I was wrong. Working in an abortion clinic, I was wrong. No more of this first trimester, second trimester, third trimester stuff. Abortion–at any point–was wrong. It was so clear. Painfully clear.”

    I wish the blinders would fall off the eyes of all Americans.

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