Monday, October 22, 2012

Catholic Right Gives Up on Telling Catholics to Vote Pro-life. Now Just Says “Vote Republican.”



ROMNEY'S REVERSAL ON ABORTION OKAY.  ELECTING GOP IS WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO SOCIAL CONSERVATIVES

After years of telling Catholics that abortion policy is a “non-negotiable” principle, but that policies for the poor, working families and world peace can be ignored and dispensed with, Right-wing groups claiming a Catholic identity have not expressed any problem with Romney abandoning any anti-abortion agenda. The Right is still telling Catholics to vote Republican even when it does nothing to protect the unborn.

On Wednesday, Romney’s campaign released a new ad aimed at pro-choice women. “You know, those ads saying Mitt Romney would ban all abortions and contraception seemed a bit extreme, so I looked into it,” says a young woman identified as Sarah Minto. “Turns out Romney doesn’t oppose contraception at all. In fact, he thinks abortion should be an option in cases of rape, incest, or to save a mother’s life.” And last week, he told the Des Moines Register’s editorial board, “There’s no legislation with regards to abortion that I’m familiar with that would become part of my agenda.”

Romney declared that “Every woman in America should have access to contraceptives.” He also said employers should not be able to bar women from receiving such insurance, an apparent reversal of his previous position on that hot-button topic.

And Romney’s new found (or re-found from his days as Governor) pro-choice position has not met with any objection from social conservatives.

“If it’s hurting him to bring up the abortion issue, then I’m OK if he doesn’t,” said Bradley Mattis, head of the Life Issues Institute in Cincinnati. Rev. Frank Pavone, head of “Priests for Life” also justified support for Romney despite the GOP nominee’s position that the right to an abortion is a “settled” matter of law.

The ultraright “Catholic Vote” has even moved beyond not caring about Romney’s position on abortion to becoming a total Republican front group even when it means condoning the killing of unborn life. While their arguments for Romney vary from a claim he told funnier jokes than Obama at the Al Smith dinner to advocacy for Austrian School economics, the kicker is in their most recent attack on Obama for being “anti-coal.” In fact what the President supports is controls on Mercury pollution which, among other health hazards, causes the death of too many unborn lives. They are even ready to defend abortion/miscarriages when it is part of the GOP agenda of opposition to regulation.

4 comments:

Pennsylvania Pole said...

Romney will say whatever it takes to get people to vote for him. To moderates, he makes the effort to sound pro-choice. To Catholics, he talks pro-life. It doesn't matter to him or the extreme right that he's continually contradicting himself.

Anonymous said...

How sad the Catholic Church has failed in its pastoral mission to show compassion and love to those less fortunate and has chosen the party of division and gun violence.

Daniel said...

I realize that Romney doesn't have the solution to the abortion problem, but how can Catholics vote for someone who is called pro-choice? Your church teaches that life begins at conception and that nobody goes to heaven unless they're baptized. You must believe that one of those two teachings is false, because you wouldn't be so heartless as to not only let people kill their own babies, but to keep their babies out of heaven too.

Kurt said...

Daniel,

The Catholic Churches does not says that the unbaptized do not go to heaven. And as you note, neither candidate has on his agenda making abortion illegal.