Obama's Squandered Opportunity On Abortion -- And How He Could Turn It Around

Then there is FOCA...

http://theologica.blogspot.com/2008/08/obama-and-freedom-of-choice-act.html
http://www.nrlc.org/FOCA/LawmakersProposeFOCA.html

ds0490: You mischaracterize the Catholic Church's stance on abortion and life issues.

If you really want to know (that is, if you are not just trying to score cheap rhetorical points) how much prolifers care about unborn children, go visit a crisis pregnancy center and see the support that is offered to the pregnant woman and her baby before and after the birth of the child.

Also, tubal pregnancy operations to remove the fallopian tube containing the embryo are not prohibited by the Catholic Church.

From EWTN: The most common dysfunctions that may set a mother's life against that of her unborn child's are the ectopic pregnancy, carcinoma of the uterine cervix, and cancer of the ovary. Occasionally, cancer of the vulva or vagina may indicate surgical intervention.

In such cases, under the principle of the "double effect," attending physicians must do everything in their power to save both the mother and the child. If the physicians decide that, in the case of an ectopic pregnancy, the mother's life can only be saved by the removal of the Fallopian tube (and with it, the unborn baby), or by removal of some other tissue essential for the preborn baby's life, the baby will of course die. But this would not be categorized as an abortion. This is all the difference between deliberate murder (abortion) and unintentional natural death.

Personally, I would rather have a doctor make the decision on what is necessary for the life and health of my family members, not the Congress nor the Holy See.

I don't think anybody would agree with that. The question is determining what procedures are necessary for your health and what procedures are necessary for your convenience especially when they involve violence and death of another being. Congress represents people and if enough people are concerned that a procedure is murder not medicine than Congress has the duty to make laws to limit that procedure.

As for the Church -- it is made up of people who also have the right to speak and teach about morality to the 1 billion or so members of their flock. Catholics are citizens too and have the right to advocate their deepest-held beliefs. If you don't believe Catholics have the right to be heard, there are a number of like-minded countries you can go to escape us -- China being one of them.

After all, in banning "partial birth abortion" they made the definitive statement that such a procedure is never necessary to save the life of a woman.

A baby that is partially born, as the procedure is known poses no health risk to anyone. There is no reason to stick a fork in the skull of a baby as it is leaving the body of a woman.

Even Planned Parenthood's Guttmacher Institute acknowledges that fewer than 1 percent of the abortions it performs are truly to preserve the life and health of a woman.

imo, abortion should be determined by the woman considering it.
Not the state or federal government and certainly not by any religious group! While i disagree of the use of abortion purely for birth control methods, it is still and should always be left up to the woman making the decision. She's the one who has to live with the decision, physically, mentally and spiritually, it is her burden to bare. the thought of religious groups seeking to tell women or anyone what they can or can't do, is utterly ridiculous. you don't want an abortion, don't have one but don't stick your self righteous nose into other peoples business!

I'm hoping that Rick will challenge Obama on his belief that many roads lead to God, not necessarily just through Jesus Christ. I can't believe that Tony Campolo and Jim Wallis and Rick Warren are overlooking this aspect of Obama's belief -- it would be better if Obama would NOT claim to be a Christian at all, than to distort the very tenets of Christianity:

"Chicago Sun-Times columnist Cathleen Falsani, who interviewed Obama in 2004 for her book, “The God Factor: Inside the Spiritual Lives of Public People “and asked him specific questions about his religious beliefs.

“I’m rooted in the Christian tradition,” said Obama, who has declared himself a Christian. But then he adds something that most Christians will see as universalism: “I believe there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people.”

Falsani correctly brings up John 14:6 (and how many journalists would know such a verse, much less ask a question based on it?) in which Jesus says of Himself, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” That sounds pretty exclusive, but Obama says it depends on how this verse is heard. According to Falsani, Obama thinks that “all people of faith — Christians, Jews, Muslims, animists, everyone — know the same God.” (her words)

If that is so, Jesus wasted his time coming to Earth and he certainly did not have to suffer the pain of rejection and crucifixion if there are ways to God other than through Himself.

Here’s Obama telling Falsani, “The difficult thing about any religion, including Christianity, is that at some level there is a call to evangelize and proselytize. There’s the belief, certainly in some quarters, that if people haven’t embraced Jesus Christ as their personal savior, they’re going to hell.” Falsani adds, “Obama doesn’t believe he, or anyone else, will go to hell. But he’s not sure he’ll be going to heaven, either.”

Here’s Obama again: “I don’t presume to have knowledge of what happens after I die. When I tuck in my daughters at night and I feel like I’ve been a good father to them, and I see that I am transferring values that I got from my mother and that they’re kind people and that they’re honest people, and they’re curious people, that’s a little piece of heaven.”

Any first-year seminary student could deconstruct such “works salvation” and wishful thinking. Obama either hasn’t read the Bible, or if he has, doesn’t believe it if he embraces such thin theological gruel.

Obama can call himself anything he likes, but there is a clear requirement for one to qualify as a Christian and Obama doesn’t meet that requirement. One cannot deny central tenets of the Christian faith, including the deity and uniqueness of Christ as the sole mediator between God and Man and be a Christian. Such people do have a label applied to them in Scripture. They are called a “false prophet.”

I hope some national journalist or commentator with knowledge of such things asks Obama about this and doesn’t let him get away with re-writing Scripture to suit his political ends."

http://tinyurl.com/5v8pzv

Most of us are old enough and have been around long enough to be aware
and not so naive as to be fooled by manipulation of voters by politicians who believe that we, the voters, are uninterested, uneducated or just plain dupeable. It distressed me greatly to see very prominent ministers being used by the Democratic party to make their plank of abortion smell better.

While I am sure these minister's intentions were good and forward looking, they must be aware that the Democratic will never change it pro-choice position, therefore, I believe these men were used and
some (especially young people) will led down the wrong path by their associations with the Democratic party.