Doug Kmiec, the widely-respected conservative legal scholar and pro-life Catholic, made waves back in March when he wrote a piece in Slate endorsing Obama. Now he is back to reaffirm his endorsement and again explain his position. In short, he says:
Not because Senator Obama's position on abortion is mine; it is not. Not because I don't believe Senator Obama could improve the articulation of his position; he could, but because I believe that my faith calls upon me at this time to focus on new efforts and untried paths to reduce abortion practice in America. Senator Obama’s emphasis on personal responsibility, rather than legal bickering over potential Supreme Court nominations in my judgment, best moves this issue forward.
It's a worthwhile exploration of motives and prudential judgments, and while Kmiec--improbably--is now lumped together with anti-Catholic dissidents--perhaps his views will help open some undefined third way out of the abortion logjam.
Via dotCommonweal.
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There is no way out of the abortion logjam short of reversing Roe V Wade and making it a capital crime to destroy human life. The Democrat Party is definitely the problem – not part of the answer.
Senator Obama's emphasis on personal responsibility must begin with respect for the Sanctity of Marriage and the Family. If you don't start there, you can never end with an outcome that reflects personal responsibility. I'm wondering just how Mr.Kmiec thinks one arrives at a well formed conscience that includes the concept of personal responsibility if one does not respect the Sanctity of Marriage and the Family.
Obama isn't just pro-choice, he appears to be pro-abortion. That any Catholic could support him given his "promise to sign federal legislation that would make it harder for states to impede abortion" is beyond me.
There is no way out of Roe v Wade and no judge who may oppose it is going to even get a hearing in the next Senate. And the way this election is looking now, there will probably not even be a enough pro-life votes in the Senate to mount a successful filibuster. If Obama wins, impeding abortion will be criminalized.