Good Points from Douglas Kmiec

In response to an open letter by John Kavanaugh S.J. on the abortion issue, Douglas Kmiec says the following:

“Father Kavanaugh’s “to do list” for Senator Obama has received substantial attention. For example, Kavanaugh recommended that Senator Obama support Jim Wallis’ abortion reduction agenda that focuses on giving economic support for pregnant women and greater access to adoption. The senator did Kavanaugh one better: he sent his staff to the platform drafting table to highlight and strongly endorsed prenatal care, maternity funding, income support and greater access to adoption. Unfortunately, the Democrats’ platform continues to endorse Roe v. Wade, but at least now this tragic moral choice is not one-sided. Some have pointed out that the old language of “safe, legal and rare” is gone. Good riddance. That language had become a mindless mantra, not a tangible step that could positively incline an expectant mother to choose life. Pro-life Catholics are looking for a viable path toward abortion reduction, not a simple slogan.  

By contrast, the GOP platform seems all slogan and no personal commitment. Going into Minneapolis, the Republicans re-stated their support for a Human Life Amendment (on no one’s political radar) and blamed “activist judges” for pretty much everything (grossly overstated and unfair to the existing bench). At the same time, they deliberately removed language calling for the reduction in the incidence of abortion. In this inversion of subsidiarity, there is no point for an individual to contribute to the common good until large institutional actors remake the universe. Not only is the perfect the enemy of the good, it is an all purpose exemption from the social teaching of the church to which, one suspects, the political descendants of Adam Smith think wholly optional.”

This is really the kernel of the issue. You simply cannot separate legal protections from the accompanying socio-economic circumstances surrounding the decision to have an abortion. But the GOP is quite happy to do that. I did not realize that they actively removed language pertaining to a reduction in abortion. Their platform is pretty much all talk, no action. And their convention is even worse: no talk, no action (neither McCain nor Palin mentioned abortion, while Obama talked about the need to reduce “unwanted pregnancies”). Remember the clear and documented links between abortion and economic circumstances. An all-encompassing approach based on a consistent ethic of life is likely not only to have a greater impact on abortion incidence, but also to be far more persuasive in terms of building a consensus toward the provision of greater legal protections for the unborn. The GOP “culture war” approach? Not so much.

Heed what the United States bishops say on this matter. As well as the need for legal protections for the unborn, “we also need to promote a culture of life by addressing poverty, providing health care, and offering other assistance to pregnant women, children, and families”. Or as the New Zealand bishops put it: “We need to do more than condemn. Our responsibility to protect unborn children includes considering the legal framework for abortions, and also supporting pregnant and single mothers, and ensuring all children are welcomed and supported.”