EDITORIAL: Obama Chooses Senator Biden for VP and the Battle for Life is Engaged

8/23/2008

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words, he also "strongly supports Roe v Wade�, which was the Supreme Court decision that entrenched unrestricted abortion as the positive law in America.

While still a candidate for the Presidency himself, he participated in the NBC sponsored Presidential debate of April 27, 2008 in South Carolina. The venue gave him the opportunity to summarize his position as he responded to a question concerning the nomination of potential Supreme Court Justices and the decision of that Court in affirming the federal ban on partial birth abortions:

MODERATOR: Senator Biden, as president would you have a specific litmus test question on Roe v. Wade that you would ask of your nominees for the high court?

BIDEN: I strongly support Roe v. Wade. I wouldn't have a specific question but I would make sure that the people I sent to be nominated for the Supreme Court shared my values; and understood that there is a right to privacy in the United States Constitution. That's why I lead the fight to defeat Bork. Thank God he is not in the court or Roe v. Wade would be gone by now.

Number two, that's why I was so outspoken and have been criticized for being outspoken and leading the effort to try to defeat Roberts and Alito. That's why I opposed, the other, Thomas on the court. The truth of the matter is that this decision (Ed: referring to Partial Birth Abortion) was intellectually dishonest. I think it is a rare procedure that should only be available when the woman's life and health is at stake.

But, what this court did is it took that decision, and it said -- put a Trojan horse in -- through dishonest reasoning, laid the groundwork for undoing Roe v. Wade. That's the danger of this decision. Not the specific procedure, but the rationale offered to justify, I think, the next step they're going to try to take.�

So, Senator Biden has tried to have it both ways. To say that he supports the ban on �Partial Birth� abortion but also opposed the Supreme Courts decision to uphold it? In an April 29th interview with the late Tim Russert on �Meet the Press� the now Vice Presidential candidate was asked to elaborate further on this position:

MR. RUSSERT: Let me talk�turn to abortion. The ban on partial-birth abortions or late-term abortions, you supported that ban.
SEN. BIDEN: I did and I do.
MR. RUSSERT: And the Supreme Court came and basically upheld that ban...
SEN. BIDEN: That�s right.
MR. RUSSERT: ...and you criticized the Supreme Court.
SEN. BIDEN: I�ll tell you why I criticized the Supreme Court. They upheld the ban, and then they engaged in what we lawyers call dicta that is frightening. You had an intellectually dishonest rationale for an honest justification for upholding the ban, and that was this: They went further, and then they, in the language associated with the decision said, by the way, they blurred whether there is the first trimester and third trimester in how much�I know this is going to sound arcane to the listeners�but whether or not they blurred the distinction between the government�s role in being involved in the first day and the ninth month.

They blurred the role in terms of whether or not there is�they became paternalistic, talking about the court could consider the impact on the mother and keeping her from making a mistake. This is all code for saying, �Here we come to undo Roe v. Wade.� And it went on to say, by the way, that the life of the mother was, in fact, permissible exception, and it went on to say that even�that any woman could challenge, even if her health is at risk, could come back to the court to challenge that. So the bottom line here is, what they did is not so much the decision, the actual outcome of the decision, it�s what attended the decision that portends for a real hard move on the court to undo the right of privacy. That�s what I�m criticizing about the court�s decision.

MR. RUSSERT: You have changed your position on abortion. When you came to the Senate, you believed that Roe v. Wade was not correctly decided and that you also believed a right of abortion was not secured by the Constitution. Why did you change your mind?

SEN. BIDEN: Well, I was 29 years old when I came to the United States Senate, and I have learned a lot. Look, Tim, I�m a practicing Catholic, and it is the biggest dilemma for me in terms of comporting my, my religious and cultural views with my political responsibility. And the decision that I have come to is Roe v. Wade is as close to we�re going to be able to get as a society that incorporates the general lines of debate within Christendom, Judaism and other faiths, where it basically says there is a sliding scale relating to viability of a fetus. We can argue about whether or not it�s precisely set, whether it�s right or wrong in terms of its three ...
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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

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1 - 10 of 37 Comments

KRL
4 years ago
I'm just a visitor here but reading some of these comments just wanted to say -

Creating a baby should be an act of love - a miracle. A commitment that a couple makes to each other and to a new life.

Seven years ago my 17 year old baby sister was acousted, raped, beaten and left for dead by three African American THUGS. She barely survived and sustain serious internal and external injuries that took many months to heal. She still has scars both physically and emotionally to this day. She Has never married or really dated and lives still at home. She's the shell of a girl she used to be and my heart aches for her. Sadly, as the years progress it's becoming more apparant she won't have a 'normal life' or probably even close.

Imagine if this were your sister or mother or wife? Think about that for a moment please.

Until you walk in our shoes - how dare any of you judge my sister or our good Catholic family for eliminating that atrocity!!

Which was a by-product of evil, hate and violence???

You know what - God forbid it would ever happen in your family but YOU go ahead raise that horror- as your own.

As far as we are concerned-

That was no baby - it was the Devil himself and we did the world a favor.

****************************

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; as it is written,

As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me
and every tongue shall confess to God.

So each of us shall give account of himself to God.

9.Christianity. Romans 14.10-12
Therese Peck
4 years ago
"As far as the right to life is concerned, every innocent human being is absolutely equal to all others. This equality is the basis of all authentic social relationships which, to be truly such, can only be founded on truth and justice, recognizing and protecting every man and woman as a person and not as an object to be used. Before the moral norm which prohibits the direct taking of the life of an innocent human being "there are no privileges or exceptions for anyone. It makes no difference whether one is the master of the world or the poorest of the poor' on the face of the earth. Before the demands of morality we are all absolutely equal".

Since we are unqualified to judge innocence (only God can do that) how does the above quote apply to war, poverty,lack of health care and capital punishment? My major objections to most 'pro-life' tracts is that they are only anti-abortion. How can we respect the life of the un-born "who we do not see" when we don't respect the lives of the born?
fred m garcia
4 years ago
Joe Biden is thinking about money thats what it all comes down to in the end. its the most hardest thing in a persons life when you walk the walk, and not the talk.
Ken Suarez
4 years ago
From his comments, its clear that Senator Biden has read Roe v. Wade and understands the ruling, which most people obviously do not. Both those who are "Pro-Life" and those who are "Pro-Choice" would benefit from a clearer understanding of the legal basis for the Roe decision. As an attorney, I believe focusing on the decision is the best approach to advance the Pro-Life position. As Biden notes, there is a "sliding scale" rule within the opinion (not unusual at all as far as legal tests go), that, if understood, could be very advantageous to reduce the scope of abortions through legislation. A better appreciation of the basis of the Court's decision in Roe would lead to a far more productive debate on the issue. I applaud the choice of Biden.
Harold Olsen
4 years ago
So, Obama chose Mr. Plagerism as his running mate. No surprise there. Obama is the most Liberal member of the Senate and Biden is #3. Both are pro-abortion extremists. I wonder how Catholics who support Obama will be able to justify voting for two individuals who want to continue murdering babies no matter what. They can not be voting their conscience if they are. And if they are then they can not be true Catholics. Neither of the two major parties is fielding a candidate that I will vote for. This year it will be a third party candidate, probably Bob Barr unless Alan Keyes shows up on the ballot--particularly since Obama and his minions are claiming that it is Alan Keyes who is lying about Obama's pro-abortion record.
sthuntz1
4 years ago
The scene: Roe v. Wade has been overturned, equal protection clause extended to the moment of conception. You are a state legislator (Catholic) and you are to write a bill to deal with the abortion issue.

What would you propose in the following scenarios?

A. Your sister-in-law announced she is pregnant. She isn't thrilled. Two weeks later, she's no longer pregnant. Family inquiries are met with "none of your business." If this happened to a 3 month old post-utero child and it was shown that the parents had conspired to have the child killed, they would face 1st degree, premeditated murder with special circumstances - death penalty. Would you extend the law to cover your once pregnant sister-in-law and her husband? Why not?

Scenario B: Doctor informs woman she is pregnant. Woman requests abortion. Dr. refuses, notes that the woman has had 2 already. She informs the Dr. she knows where she can procure one and intends to do so. Dr., as mandated reporter, informs authorities. Is unborn child then placed in protective custody? If not, why not?

Just what do the bishops foresee once R v. W is overturned? All I ever get to these questions is vague and evasive answers...or, just silence. Moralizing is easy. Legislating morals is not so easy.
Elohist
4 years ago
Dear Deacon:
Calm down. The issue is whether or not Catholic doctrine is binding on non-Catholics. Moreover, refusal to overturn the government that is made up of non-Catholics is not cooperation in abortion. Your thinking is confused and I suggest you consult Prof. Kmiec who seems to have better grasp (and the degrees to teach authoritatively about the legal issues) of what is at stake.
Casey
4 years ago
Just when you thought the Dems could no deeper on the right to kill the unborn, Speaker Nancy Pelosi on a Sunday Show 8-25-08 spoke for the Catholic Church saying,"The church is in debate on when life begins".

How can Catholic's keep supporting these immoral elites.
Ed Burke
4 years ago
I agree with Senator Biden. The issue is clear we cannot condone abortion. The question that is undecided is can we ask the government to jail and punish women, never men, for seeking an abortion knowing full well that many such women are desperate, frightened, and according to Republican led efforts, unable to get government assistance once the child is born, and the mother can not work. It is hypocrisy and unChristian to not equate government social programs to help such women and infants, while professing they should be jailed for seeking, what appears to them, the only other way out, an Abortion. As a Christian, and a Catholic I see Senator Biden's as the more enlightened and Catholic point of View. When we have a nation that is compassionate, and willing to help its most desperate citizens, and let them 'Fend for themselves' when in dire straits, then and only then should be thinking about jailing women for decisions they make about abortion. That day sin't even on the horizon, but it's more possible under a Democart, than it is under what currently passes for the party of Lincoln.
Jarrad
4 years ago
"Genesis 2:7 implies life does not begin until the first breath."

Are you serious? Maybe if your name is Adam and you were formed from clay. And whose breath are we talking about? Your own? Adam got God's breath. And so did the Apostles by the way... And their successors are the ones telling you life begins at conception!

But if consistency is what your after then here it is...

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you,a prophet to the nations I appointed you" Jeremiah 1:5

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