Friday, January 23, 2009

Abortion Politics and the Soul of the Nation

President Barack Obama is expected to issue an executive order overturning the "global gag rule" on U.S. funding for international abortion groups. With this move, shortly after the 36th anniversary of the infamous Roe v. Wade decision, this administration will position itself as the arbiter of abortion extremism worldwide, and it will guarantee that its domestic and international social policies will polarize the nation and complete the destruction of the moral fabric of this country.

As Robert George notes, in "
Our Struggle for the Soul of our Nation," the ungodly legacy of the American left over the past 36 years is the 50 million victims of a national feticide of genocidal proportions. The United States, with the Democratic administration in power, faces a moral reckoning today that is a potential breaker of nations:

Abortion and embryo-destructive research are at the heart of the divide between the nation’s major political parties ....

The Republican Party’s support for the unborn has brought into its ranks many disaffected rank-and-file Democrats, including a large number of Catholics and Evangelicals. I am one. Indeed, it overstates the matter only a bit to say that, as a result of the conflict of worldviews that began with abortion, the Republicans have become the party of the religiously engaged, while the Democrats have become the party of liberal secularists. Barack Obama is trying to win over religiously serious Catholics and Evangelicals, without altering in the slightest his support for abortion, including late-term and partial-birth abortions, the funding of abortion and embryo-destructive research with taxpayer dollars, the elimination of informed consent and parental notification laws, and the revocation of conscience and religious liberty protections for pro-life doctors and other healthcare workers and pharmacists. He will ultimately fail. We must see to it that he fails.

In this project, Obama is being served and abetted by a small number of Catholic and Evangelical intellectuals and activists who have been peddling the claim that Obama, despite his pro-abortion extremism, is effectively pro-life because of his allegedly enlightened economic and social policies will reduce the number of abortions. This is delusional. The truth is that Barack Obama is the most extreme pro-abortion candidate ever to serve in the United States Senate or seek the Office of President of the United States. The revocation of the Hyde Amendment, the Mexico City Policy, funding limitations on embryo-destructive research, informed consent laws, parental notification statutes—all of which Obama has promised to his pro-abortion base—will dramatically increase the number of abortions, and will do so for reasons that have been articulated by the abortion lobby itself. It is the pro-abortion side that tells us that the Hyde Amendment alone has resulted in 300,000 fewer abortions each year than would otherwise be performed—and that is why they so desperately want it to be repealed. Yet the putatively pro-life Obama apologists claim that the man who pledges to repeal it is going to reduce the number of abortions. Let me say it again: this is delusional.

Reflecting that the left's abandonment of the Constitution's call that all shall be guaranteed the equal protection of the laws, Professor George concludes:

We are called to account for the national sin of abortion. Like Thomas Jefferson reflecting on the evil of slavery—an evil in which he was personally complicit—we must “tremble for our country when we consider that God is just.” Like Abraham Lincoln, whom President Obama invokes but does not emulate, we must pray that God, in His mercy, will not abandon us, but will rather restore us to the true and lofty moral ideals of our founding. Even at this dark hour for our movement, let us here highly resolve to hasten the day when this nation, under God, will be truly and fully and finally dedicated to the proposition that all are created equal.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

In the interest of balance, this from last year:

A new study shows that the rate of abortion in the U.S. has dropped to its lowest level since the mid-1970s.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18195345

And this quote, regarding both sides:
The best way to continue to reduce the number of abortions is to continue to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies.

(And the footnote there should be, education, education, education!)

Anonymous said...

You know, of all my friends who favor abortion rights, I always ask them if they think Jesus would agree with them if he were here today. Would he say, "yes, this is the right thing"? 50 million fetuses that were/would be individual human beings. Hard to imagine Jesus would say "Good idea."
They stop and think, but remain ideologically driven.

And considering that there are so many other options, like adoption, it's just insane.

AmPowerBlog said...

Tim: You comment is not germane. Obama's supporting more abortions, not less. The reason we have less abortions is due to conservative policies. The progressive-left abhors this, and you'll help them derail whatever progress we're seeing.

Have some integrity here...

Anonymous said...

"A new study shows that the rate of abortion in the U.S. has dropped to its lowest level since the mid-1970s."

Hey, Tim, does Bush get any credit for that?

AmPowerBlog said...

Thanks Private Pigg!

Tim above here just doesn't get it, and wants us to have some "balance."

How do we balance that 50 million potential lives destroyed?

JoeBama "Truth 101" Kelly said...

As much as I loathe bringing Jesus into political discussions, how would Jesus feel about the denying of quality health care to someone who couldn't afford health insurance Pigman? How would God feel if a psycho bought a gun at a gun show and used it to kill one of HIS children?
How would God feel if a certain political party used an issue to sway the votes of HIS followers and then paid only lip service to changing it?
How would God feel if a man who described himself as a compassionette fiscal conservative gutted health care programs and oversaw the biggest deficits in history?

Anonymous said...

Actually PrivatePigg, it's the morning after pill that gets the credit more than anything. And that women are more aware of birth control too.

While you are at it, why don't you ask Jesus how he feels about committing acts of war, gun violence, and hating your neighbor because the way God made him is different to you?

And while you are at it, ask him if he would drive a Suburban, or a Hummer.

I know, let's also ask Jesus how he feels about torture. You know he's probably a big fan, as he was supposedly tortured at the hands of the Romans. Maybe he would be OK with waterboarding?

Pathetic.

Norm said...

American aid to foreign countries and the distribution of information on and forms of birth control was a hot issue before the decision of Roe v. Wade. The Eisenhower administration disallowed the distribution of condoms and birth control information to India. The issue received some publicity at the time. This proscription was lifted during the Johnson administration. I don't think funding abortions was considered...it was just family planning. Therefore, since WWII the political leaning of the President was the deciding factor whether or not American taxpayer dollars would fund birth control
abroad.

JBW said...

No Don, Obama is not "overturning the 'global gag rule' on U.S. funding for international abortion groups", he's supporting giving aid money to family planning services and groups that provide a myriad of health services to poor and single women around the world, of which abortions make up a tiny percentage. 82% of Planned Parenthood's clients receive services to prevent unintended pregnancy; 3% of their health services are abortion services.

Bush prevented some abortions by banning these funds for eight years but he also enabled many more unwanted pregnancies while also preventing STD exams, breast exams, PAP smears, cervical exams, safe sex education and the dispersal of contraception.

This part is my favorite though: "it will guarantee that its domestic and international social policies will polarize the nation and complete the destruction of the moral fabric of this country." I just have a hard time believing that you believe all of this chicken little crap you scream about every hour of every day.

I mean, what won't President Obama completely destroy in your eyes? And if the moral fabric of this country is mere years away from completely unraveling then I'd say we godless commies have pretty much won. I'll bet there's still room for you on Grace's 666beast bandwagon, 'cause if the world does end, according to what I read here everyday, the odds highly favor that it'll somehow be Obama's fault.

Could you please call me a nihilist in your response? I of course believe in many different things but it somehow works as a soothing affirmation for me.

Anonymous said...

JBW: What Donald forgets is that we heard this same tripe in the 70s.

And the 80s.

And the 90s.

And now it all of a sudden is the one issue that will blow this nation apart.

Really?

JBW said...

Tim, I'm giving Don nine more hours to respond to this comment (whether or not he calls me a nihilist is entirely up to him) before I check out of here again.

I'm tired of trying to engage him and his followers in rational debate to only repeatedly find my pretty face at the bottom of most comment threads. I don't always think that I'm right on most issues (although I regularly suspect it) but engaging in political debate with intellectual cowards is like masturbating to horrible porn and not finishing: it's fairly frustrating and leaves you completely unfulfilled.