On Sunday, Joe Biden raised a few eyebrows–and the hackles of the conservative pro-life establishment–by saying that his Catholic faith dictates his belief that life begins at conception during an interview on Meet the Press.
The New York Times treated the interview as a “gap” story, about the conflict between Biden’s private religious views and his political stance as a pro-choicer. The news media often treat stories about politicians who are personally opposed to abortion but respect the right of women to make their own choices about the issue as tales of the gap between their faith and their public policy.
Here’s the top of the Times story:
WASHINGTON — Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., the Democratic nominee for vice president, departed Sunday from party doctrine on abortion rights, declaring that as a Catholic, he believes life begins at conception. But the Delaware senator added that he would not impose his personal views on others, and had indeed voted against curtailing abortion rights and against criminalizing abortion…..
In the interview Sunday, Mr. Biden tried to walk the line between the staunch abortion-rights advocates in his party and his own religious beliefs. While he said he did not often talk about his faith, he said of those who disagree with him: “They believe in their faith and they believe in human life, and they have differing views as to when life — I’m prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception.”
But God-o-Meter has to question the accuracy of this gap story. The Times sums up Biden’s abortion record by noting that Biden himself said he “had indeed voted against curtailing abortion rights and against criminalizing abortion.”
What the Times didn’t note is that Biden has also voted against public funding for abortion and supported the federal partial-birth abortion ban. That helps explain why he got a 36-percent rating from NARAL in 2003.
The news media shouldn’t parrot the pro-life movement’s line that unless a politician is close to 100-percent supportive of criminalizing abortion, he or she is completely pro-choice, or even pro-abortion. That’s more or less what the Times and a lot of other news outlets did today.
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posted September 8, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Biden’s overall voting record is overwhelmingly on the pro-abortion side, and is recognized as such by both pro-life groups and abortion advocates. Biden has not voted on the pro-life side on any roll call vote scored by National Right to Life since 2003.
However, it is true that Biden’s record on a few pro-life issues is contrary to the positions that Senator Obama has taken — which is to say, while Obama has always embraced the most expansively pro-abortion policy option of those placed before him, there are several specific issues on which Biden has not done that. These divergences actually illustrate some of the extremes of Obama’s record. For example, Obama consistently opposed the ban on partial-birth abortions, while Biden voted for it (but then criticized the Supreme Court decision that upheld it). Obama favors repeal of the Hyde Amendment — a proven “abortion reduction” law that has saved more than one million lives. Obama led the opposition to the Illinois Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, while Biden (along with every other voting U.S. senator) supported a virtually identical bill.
Douglas Johnson
Legislative Director
National Right to Life Committee
http://www.nrlc.org
posted September 8, 2008 at 2:23 pm
I do not expect Biden to tell us we need to say a ‘Novena”, or that one must ‘go to Confession at least once/year or else”. I do not believe Americans elected Biden as a ‘Catholic spoke person”.
However, I would suggest to Biden and Pelosi -and to any other Catholic proclaiming to BE CATHOLIC out there in the Political world- that they ought to listen to their own Church (do not quote me on this, but I think any Catholic getting an abortion gets de facto excommunicated, and those who promote the practice are not quite Catholics)*.
Whether these Politicians are walking excommunicants, I would say, is NOT any of us Taxpayers’ business.
What is our business is that Legislators must legislate, and when making decisions they must be educated and informed, especially with issues relating to life and death.
This is why I think that our Candidates are obligated to learn what are the scientific facts about the human embryo before they can support or oppose abortion rights. Questions: How can you support Abortion if you do not know what you are doing? Is this an issue of a pay grade now?
Well, let me help you: There is not a single scientist in the World that would deny that the human embryo (once implanted) is an individual of the human species. This individual is not his or her mother. This individual is unique, and will remain an individual through the whole process of development until his or her death (natural or otherwise). These are the facts Legislators must bear in mind. These facts are not an opinion or theological position.
So, whatever ‘religion’ you claim to profess, the issue of Abortion is NOT about religion, IT IS ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS. Biden and colleagues do not believe all individuals are equal.
*Note: I just googled it, Biden’s Church states that “The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. ‘A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae’ ‘by the very commission of the offence’”.