Obama Stirs Up Abortion Debate at Notre Dame
President says we need to work together to reduce abortions, but his policies tell a different story.
Catholics around the world were outraged when the pro-abortion Obama was invited to speak.
Not all Catholics are outraged about Obama’s pro-abortion stance. Why is that? In fact, many Catholics voted for Barack Obama in spite of his views on life. Can somebody out there please tell me why? Why did Catholics and other Christians from other Christian Denominations vote for Obama? What is it about Obama that had you thinking twice enough to vote for him? With the exception to the fact that Barack Obama is half black and we have never had a black president before… can somebody take me further than race with this?
“By inviting Barack Obama as commencement speaker, Notre Dame is telling the nation that the teaching of the Catholic Church on this fundamental matter can be ignored.”
Ralph McInerny has a point…don’t you think?
Meanwhile, inside, Obama said Americans need to “work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions.”
His policies, however, suggest a far different agenda.
In his first 100 days in office, Obama:
1.) Signed an executive order allowing taxpayer funding to go to international groups that promote or provide abortions.
2.) Opened the door for more human embryos to be destroyed for unethical stem-cell research.
3.) Began the process of rescinding the Bush health care provider conscience regulations.
4.) Lifted a seven-year ban on taxpayer funding of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which is linked to forced abortion programs.
How do Catholics, Protestants, Christ Followers that voted for Obama…. how do you sleep at night?
When I choose which candidate to vote for, I weigh all the issues together. I cannot vote for or against one candidate based on a single issue. I have to decide which candidate I feel would do the best overall job. The presidency is more than just the abortion debate. What about the areas of foreign policy, defense, economics, social policy, and all the issues facing our country today?
The same way Christians who vote for any politician do. There is no politician out there who votes 100% a christian agenda. If you voted for Bush, you voted for someone who supports the death penalty. I do not believe that the death penalty in its current implementation is scriptural. He refused to consider a moratorium even after 20 DNA exhonorations of people in prison in Dallas County alone! During biblical times, the death penalty was given at the direction of God and He is without error. Man is in charge of this death penalty and that means there are going to be some mess-ups and we have blood on our hands.
For some people, how we treat the least of us in our society who are already walking around (I recognize that unborn children are a part of the least of us as well), informs our decision. Policies that favor the rich, and corporations and the politicians who support those are unappealing when we see families and children struggling. Don’t quote me but I believe Jesus spent most of his ministry with the poor, and the sick, and the oppressed. His emphasis was on that.
Some Christians believe that the premise for the war in Iraq was flawed and did not want to support a candidate who didn’t recognize it as such. I just studied the scripture about seeking peace with all a couple of weeks ago and now I cant recall it. I understand that sometimes war is necessary, Iraq? Afghanistan, maybe. Iraq, even in hindsight, no.
I know enough about you to know that for for you, abortion is the be-all, end all, end of the line, but please don’t dismiss your brothers and sisters in Christ who are as passionate about the other teachings and commandments of Christ, as you are about abortion.
When I read comments like “how can you be a christian and…” it makes me sad. How one votes is a horrible indicator of ones’ commitment to Christ because the process requires us to select people. People are frail beings, fraught with inconsistencies. I could have voted for candidate George Bush, he is anti abortion, but he cut Children’s Health Insurance, he is a frequent guest and supporter of Bob Jones University which still bans interracial dating, he refuses to even examine the death penalty. ALL of those things have a Christian moral imperative and I value some more than other. From a strictly practical point-outlawing abortion will not end abortion. Anti-poverty programs will not end poverty (Jesus said the poor will always be among us), allowing interracial dating will not end racism. I get that the government is not the answer for everything, but I submit to you, different priorities helps us to do God’s work on earth. If every Christian made abortion their issue-who would work for the children that were saved-most of them would be to single women who are disproportionately poorer than their married counterparts. Maybe this is how God means for us to be on earth-me riled up about social injustice and you on life issues.
“How do Catholics, Protestants, Christ Followers that voted for Obama…. how do you sleep at night?”
They take Ambien or some other sleeping pill, Angela. Same as everyone who can’t sleep because of the constant cranial conflict between their contradictory moral and political positions.
You keep saying that you recognize that unborn children are a part of the least of us as well. If that’s the case according to everything that you have stated about the poorest of the poor…how is it impossible to ignore life for the unborn when their rights as human beings are being stripped away from them just because they are growing inside of another human being? We were all unborn once. Aren’t you glad that you had the chance to be born so that you could speak up for the poorest of the poor?
My opposition is not to the abortion debate or pro-life supporters, it is to your choice of words about how people who voted for someone who supports a right to choose sleep at night. My larger point is that there are many things that Christ spoke up for and against, and to vote according to those tenets is hard (maybe Jehova’s witnesses have it right by forbidding voting!). If I vote for candidate A who is pro life but supports the death penalty, rejects Childrens Health Insurance, that feels as wrong to me as you would feel voting for candidate B, who supports CHIP, does not support the death penalty and votes pro life. That is my delimma. I abhor abortion so I rabidly support policies that help mitigate unwanted pregnancies. Here in Texas, they are trying to cut funding for family planning clinics. All get caught in the cross hairs whether they perform abortions or not–the VAST majority don’t and some law prohibits those that do from using govt money to use it for that purpose. The end result is diminished accessibility to birth control and womens health services to poor women. The politics of abortion is out of control when we eschew low cost, humane common sense options that help everyone achieve their goal. I can’t support that even though I hate, and I know that God hates, abortions. Furthermore, outlawing abortions does not make them go away. It isn’t even practical. Last point, if abortions become illegal or suddenly cease to exist, as long as unplanned pregnancies occur, there should be a social safety net for those children. I hear lots of bleating about irresponsible mothers and fathers of said babies (I don’t know the stats but I assume most women who have abortions are unmmarried) and you’ll get no argument from me there, but the kids have no say so in their life circumstances. Is health insurance and head start (to name a few) too much to ask for? Its a hard sell to tell women to have their babies instead of aborting when they know not only that they will have a hard time raising the kid, but they will also be maligned in the process. Voting, to me, is much more complicated than any one issue, including abortion. Sometimes I vote for a candidate who supports pro-life agendas and sometimes I don’t, but it is one of many things I am looking at. I dont think any of us want our Christianity called into question based on how we vote especially since we vote for other people. I know my many frailties and maybe I am wrong, but I presume others have them as well. I don’t want God’s view of my walk or others tied up in their actions or inactions
It is a question of priorities.
You talk a lot about abortion. Why not look at it in terms of unborn rights?
If you were the one being aborted, would you want US voters to make the pro-life cause #1 on their list?
As for contraception: I don’t agree with it. Nonetheless, who needs more help– babies who have no advocates, or grown women who have knowledge and resources?
Which issue is most important to you? You can’t vote for a candidate who supports everything you do.
Remember Jesus said: what you did to the least of my brothers, you did to me. The issue isn’t just criminalizing abortion. It’s about showing respect for the unborn. Whether abortions increase or decrease, the unborn deserve equal recognition under the law.
“Which issue is most important to you? You can’t vote for a candidate who supports everything you do.” And that was my point made more concisely and eloquently by you.
How do you guys feel about our government stepping in and taking control of every single aspect of our lives? How do you like the way that the government is spending our tax dollars? Do you think the government has the right to fund things that we ourselves do not approve of? How does it feel to have the government spend so much money in the first half the year as compared to the spending that has gone on for the last decade? Abortion… well that’s just part of the problem. There is an entire mix of problems and abortion is just one of them.
Angela,
It’s the same as it ever was. We’ve all always had our money spent on things we don’t approve of. I didn’t approve of the war in Iraq. I did not then, nor do I now, understand what Iraq had to do with 9/11 (and now Dick Cheney comes forward to say the same-why didn’t he say something BILLIONS of dollars ago when he had the ability to make an impact. I don’t like our current farm policy and subsidies for corn-read Omnivore’s Delimma by Pollan. I don’t like corporate welfare. But the deal is, in a country as large as this one is, in order to have effective govt that addressess the needs of many, you are also going to cover some things that we ourselves may not approve of. As different leaders come into power, they jmove things around and shuffle money, and inevitably, those who get cut off, or get increased funding howl with fury or scream with delight. None of them should get cozy though because everything is cyclical and if you don’t like it, you just have to wait around a while. It will all change back again eventually.
LaDawn, why did you vote for Obama and what would you like to see him do with your vote? What do you hope he accomplishes in the next four years?
Complicated answer but I’ll try. Originally was leaning toward Hilary bugt was open to McCain. When McCain picked Palin, he was out. I felt he was pandering to win. I realize it was pragmatic of McCain to change his strategy, but I like a McCain of bygone era-2000. he said what needed to be said no matter who got mad about it. And if the other side was right, he said that too. The whole campaign was a betrayal of that guy, but I felt truly insulted when he picked Palin.
I have always loved Hilary. She is smart and thoughtful-something I honestly feel we had been missing for a very long time. We get the same thing in Obama-but with a little something extra. I was really worried when Obama became the nominee–on so many levels. I worried about his lack of experience. i worried that some racist nut job would try to take him out, i worried that he would be unable to do the job. I don’t worry about those things as much anymore. He is doing a lot of what I hoped he would do–thinking and working for the middle class. A country without a middle class is a dangerous place to be and America is headed that way-the NY times did an article about that a couple of years ago that was fascinating. Extricating us from Iraq was also important to me. When he talked about doing that I groaned because I didn’t know how it was going to be done-still don’t, but you have to try. Restoring our image around the world is also important to me. When people say that it doesnt matter what other countries think of us they are WRONG because it does matter. Right after 9/11, all those countries came to our aid because of our position in the world. With Iraq, we destroyed that good will and gave terrorists material to work with. That speech obama gave in Cairo was AMAZING no matter how you look at it because no one left unscathed. Have you been watching what is going on in lebanon and Iran? I believe there is a correlation. People all over the world want better-for themselves, for their country, but just like us, they have been mired in past-the way we have always done it. The way he is doing it is genius. He is making it safe for moderates in those countries to support the US when we are doing the right thing and then he works to do the right thing, and that slowly marginalizes and squeezes the extremists. It is that approach and thoguhtfulness and strategy that I admire.
So the hope and change that is mocked, is real. Having someone in there with a completely different background and experience is already changing the world. Will it work. Maybe not. Will it last? Probably not. But i am a firm believer that you have to try.
What do i hope that he will accomplish in the next four years?
health care reform is on the top on my list. Opportunities have been squandered to provide relief for millions of americans with prescription drug care because the lobbyists for the industry wrote the legislation(60 minutes did a story on that a year or two ago). I started reading about it and have been seething ever since. I don’t know if i am for universal care or not, (a key difference with hilary) but i do know that there have to be big changes. I hear people say all the time, we have the best health care system in the world–we don’t. Don’t get me wrong, compared to other countries, we are tops, but we pay far more than other developed countries and get similar results. To illicit fear, the word rationing gets pushed to the front without a discussion on the merits of rationing based on age or physical condition particularly when resources are limited and evidence lacking in efficacy of procedures. In this discussion, i want everything on the table, nothing sacred, and then an anaytical view of the what works, what doesn’t. What are ways doctors and patients can benefit. i also want a holistic view of health. i have a friend who is adamantly opposed to health care reform. he says we have universal care already because emergency rooms have to take everyone regardless of ability to pay. my point is, why should we pay $250k for a stroke when it costs pennies a day for high blood pressure medicine if you could afford to go to the doctor and get the check up.
i also like that Obama is willing to say the hard truths. Entitlement programs have to be revamped. it needed to be addressed for the last 20 years but no one had the guts to do it. Leadership si about statingn the truth, even when it is difficult.
i’ve got lots more butyour eyes are probably glassed over!!
I promise my eyes are not glassed over. You are taking the time to answer my questions and are being as honest and civil about it. That’s a rarity at times on this blog.
I came back to this site because I had provided a decent, well-crafted response to the question you posed and I was hoping I could see some good conversation generated as a result, but instead I’m really bothered to see it has been removed. I took my time to post something thoughtful from an opposite point of view that was neither disparaging nor disrespectful to your position. I honestly wanted to help you understand why some Catholics chose to vote for Obama, and you have now chosen to do something disrespectful to me: delete my thoughts and feelings after I tried to be honest to help you understand. This is a passive-aggressive way of belittling my opinion.
I’m sorry you didn’t agree with me, but I’m more sorry that others who seek the answer to the same question you’ve asked will not be able to see a respectful and detailed response from someone who cared enough to give it. I am honestly hurt and bewildered by your choice to remove my words, and I’m sure you’ll remove these as well.
If you seek the answer to a question, you will get many responses across the board, and it is your choice whether to value each and let the answers further define who you are, or to delete and banish the words in complete disregard in an act nothing short of ignorant.
I hope God’s many blessings have a continual presence in your life and that in the future you will attempt to realistically seek the truth instead of posing questions in order to simply bash people, which it seems was your only goal.
Uh Kaylee… you Never posted a comment on my blog. You have no idea what you are talking about.
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