Opinion: Sarah Palin is Truly Pro-Life, Daughter Bristol has Made the Right Choice

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - After the surprising announcement that Sarah Palin, the Governor of Alaska, had been chosen by Senator John McCain to be the Republican candidate for the Vice Presidency, the internet was immediately filled with efforts to discredit her.Frankly it was a show of everything that is wrong with the political machine of the so called �pro-choice� wing of the Democratic Party. Sadly, it also included those within the growing numbers of �pro-choice� Republicans.

The attacks were so petty as to point to her �big hair� in an effort to demean her appearance. They revealed her honest acknowledgement of her youthful indiscretions such as smoking pot. She, unlike Bill Clinton, admitted it. Like me and most of us who grew up around the same time,she really did inhale and her honesty about it is an asset. All these folks who are attacking her in an effort to undermine the excitement that her choice has generated only care about protecting the so-called right to �choose�, which actually means the �right� to kill an innocent child in the first home of the whole human race, their mothers womb.

First of all, Sarah Palin is a woman who lives what she proclaims. She is truly pro-life. She and her husband Todd knew that their last child, Trigg, had an extra chromosome. He was a �Downs� child. What did they do? They welcomed him as a special gift and showed the whole world that every human life is a gift to be received and not a �problem� to be �dealt with� by the always deadly �choice�, of abortion.

Now, the news has emerged that Sarah and Todd�s seventeen year old daughter, Bristol, is pregnant with her own child. Yes, pregnant outside of marriage. Well, I understand what they are going through. Having raised five children, including three daughters,it does happen. We cannot make our children�s choices for them. We can only pray that when one of those choices results in the gift of life out of the ordinary course, they will choose to respect the life of the child conceived. I have lived this as a father, and as a grandfather, and I resent the arrogance of those who now raise it in an effort to discredit Sarah Palin.

In fact, the Palin's have only confirmed me in my conviction that the Governor of Alaska is a great asset to John McCain and just the kind of leader which we need to stand at the side of the next President of the United States.Bristol Palin acknowledges that she is five months pregnant and unmarried. She and the father of this child have properly exercised their freedom of choice. They have done so morally. They have chosen life. They have also decided not to offer this gift of life for adoption. That is also a moral choice. Bristol will give birth to this child, not abort him or her. She and the father of the baby will marry in the future.

Today the internet was abuzz with discussion of what is �proper� and allegations that this news somehow undermines the claim that Todd and Sarah truly hold �family values�. How despicable! We should all praise Bristol and the father of this child for not opting to kill the baby through abortion. We should applaud and pray for the grandparents who have decided they will help the new family. The scurrilous and judgmental comments and concerns over whether this news undercuts Senator McCain�s choice of Sarah Palin are revealing.

The Palins showed their character when they responded with these words: �Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support. Bristol and the young man she will marry are going to realize very quickly the difficulties of raising a child, which is why they will have the love and support of our entire family. We ask the media, respect our daughter and Levi's privacy as has always been the tradition of children of candidates."

Rather than undermine the claim of Sarah and Todd Palin that they truly are pro-life and pro-family, this news actually underscores why we who are faithful Catholics need to seriously consider the ticket that Sarah Palin has joined as we exercise our faithful citizenship and vote. Oh, I know that her counterpart on the Democratic side is a �practicing� Catholic. There is one problem. He is absolutely wrong on the fundamental human rights issue of our age, the right to life from conception to natural death. In that, he is dissenting from the infallible teaching of the Church and actually showing that he simply does not get the truth about life and does not understand genuine compassion. Abortion is never compassionate and taking innocent human life can never serve the common good.

I am deeply touched by the news from Sarah and Todd Palin. I am offering my own prayer for them, their daughter, their grandchild in the womb, and his or her father who is their future son in law. I have lived through this. The response of this family shows America that the right choice is always life. If Bristol and the father had decided that they could not raise this child and were not ready for this responsibility, they could have chosen adoption. Yes, I know, we do need a public policy which supports all of these proper choices and provides for the mother, the child and even the potential adoptive parents, after birth. The fact of the matter is, the Republican platform finally acknowledges that, thank God.It also, unlike the Democratic platform, acknowledges that that child has a right to life.

The news concerning Sarah and Todd Palin�s daughter and her baby does not undermine the Republican Parties efforts to stand as the Party of real family values, it actually strengthens it. No matter how the Democrats try, and there really are good pro-life Democrats, their current platform and their current candidate does not respect the fundamental human right, the right to life, or the first freedom ,the freedom to be born.

"Pro-Life"? Yeah, I do get it. As a vegetarian, I'm not particularly happy about killing anything, let alone a human fetus. But I'm also a realist, and from what I can see, the only "option" that most self-styled pro-lifers offer is to swallow all of their particular religious values, hook, line, and sinker.

Sorry folks, but whatever dogma you may happen to embrace, it's NOT gonna take over the world in your lifetime, or your grandchildren's.

Meanwhile, "abstinence only" and "Vatican roulette" seem to be the only choices acceptable�? No wonder we are up to our adenoids in unwanted children.

Is it really that much more "moral" to force crack addicts and alcoholics to have babies? Oh, and please spare me the "we're not forcing them to fornicate" spiel� as long as there is poverty, desperation, and a low educational standard, there WILL be addicts, and they WILL pursue whatever immediate physical gratifications are available to them, including sexual intercourse-- any perceived escape from their dismal reality.

Simply wishing they'd all find Jesus (or any other savior) will not change that. Nor will making any of their activities illegal. Desperation is desperation, and does not consider long-term consequence. Unless you've lived on the street, you have no real authority to judge such people� you are simply a "moral dilettante".

So, pretty much by definition, an abortion is the result of an unwanted pregnancy. If the REAL agenda is to simply end abortion, let's face it, people-- the answer is simple, and obvious. Make safe, effective, affordable birth control available to whoever wants it, and the "abortion problem" would practically disappear overnight.

But oh, no� that's not good enough is it? Because, of course, the agenda is actually to promote religion. Whatever religion a particular right-to-life speaker happens to espouse, naturally�.

Now I know you Catholics have been told that God doesn't like birth control. And Christians, or at least Christian institutions, in general all seem to believe that teenagers are "too easily confused" and best left in obedient ignorance, when it comes to sex. But tell me- are the "sins" of birth control and sex education really worse than ignoring reality, and extending the current situation indefinitely? While you're all out doing "God's work" and evangelizing the world, fetuses are still being killed.

Every time I hear some conservative, fumblementalist politician pushing for "abstinence-only" reproductive education, I can just hear the population counters a-clicking. Regardless of how sincere one's spiritual (or political) beliefs may be, expecting all teenagers and addicts to "abstain" from the most fundamental of human urges is just plain, irresponsibly, na�ve.

I also think you Catholic pro-lifers need to be a bit more careful about who you select as your allies. From what I've seen, at least modern Catholics generally DO walk-the-talk regarding other forms of killing... specifically, by opposing the death penalty and needless warfare. This is obviously not the case, when it comes to the "moral majority" of Protestants.

I find it particularly cynical and outrageous, that these religious crusaders, who have seemingly no qualms about firebombing and/or military invasion of anyone they see as "heathen", would use the "right to life" as their political rallying cry. How can we ever trust anything else they might say, however "spiritual" it might be?

Just a few thoughts from out here in "heathen-land". Thanks for your time.

Observations from a heathen.... | 9/19/2008

I take great umbrage with Deacon Fourtnier's statement that those that are attacking Sarah Palin "only care about protecting their so called right to choose". You are wrong. I believe abortion is a terrible thing, but I care about many things. I greatly resent any implication that not being for Sarah Palin is being for death.

I oppose Gov. Palin's lack of knowledge, education and experience of important national and international issues for the VP slot. She has been a pretty good governor so far, but it has only been 21 months and the Alaskan jury is still out on her administrative skills. We'll see, but not all is humming along nicely in Alaska state government.

I'm glad she is promising to be an advocate for the disabled, but this last legislative she had the opportunity to help get the almost 1,000 disabled people waiting for services off the waiting list. They are waiting because of lack of funds. Alaska has a 5 billion dollar surplus. Governor Palin has not put forth any vision or plan for the disabled in Alaska. She may be interested now in this vulnerable population, but she has not been before her own family needed the services. It's easy to be popular when you govern a state that has made a tremendous amount of money off the rise in oil prices and then gives it away.

This is the first time I have been on the local scene as events have unfolded and then seen what is said about it on a national level. Sarah's victories have been widely stretched to be bigger than they really are. She ousted a very unpopular incumbent governor. He did not even win his party's primary. She has been part of the force that stood up to the oil companies on the part of the state, but the groundwork was all done by a bipartisan group in the legislature. Exposing and ending corruption in Alaska? She has had a part in it, she stood up to the chair of the Republican party when he was doing party business out of his office as a state employee. That took courage and she risked her political career to do it. But leading the charge against corruption in the state legislature? Again, a bipartisan legislative group, but mostly it was the FBI and their long standing investigation of corrupt practices that deserve the credit for starting it and seeing it through.

The case of Trooper Wooten and the firing of the Commissioner of Public Safety. That issue came about long before her selection for the VP place on the GOP ticket. It is not a political attack from the Democrats, but an investigate that was voted on by the Alaskan Legislature which has more Republicans than Democrats. At first Gov. Palin said she would cooperate and "welcomed the investigation" to clear the air. Since she was chosen for the GOP VP candidate all the transparency immediately disappeared. She has now decided the investigation began by the legislature is illegal. Those involved are now only going to speak under subpoena. What happened to welcoming the investigation, to transparency?

Commander in Chief of the Alaska National Guard? The commanding General of the Guard has stated publicly, in print, that Gov. Palin's command of the Guard is limited in planning or executing Guard deployment as it is generally done at the federal level. See his interview with the Anchorage Daily News. http://www.adn.com/sarah-palin/story/515499.html

These are just some of the examples of how her education, knowledge and experience has been stretched to create an image that is not all real. There some grains of truth to what they are saying, but many Alaskans are outraged with the image of Gov. Palin that is being put out there as truth.

Gov. Palin campaigns very well, people like her, they relate to her. Yet, even in the gubernatorial race she never really said anything of substance and the Alaska press really gave her a pass on that, even though it was a common topic of conversation around Alaska. I don't dislike her, I may or may not vote for her if she stands for reelection as Governor in Alaska, we'll see how the rest of her term goes. But for Vice President with a 72 year old President with melanoma? I don't need another friend I can relate to. I do not want someone stepping up to the Presidency that is now spending her time doing late night exam cramming on the issues. I want a scholar, someone at the top of their class who has a vision and commitment to all people, especially the vulnerable.

Sarah Palin is just George Bush in high heels-on the war, foreign policy, the economy, healthcare, the poor, the hungry, the homeless, immigration and the environment. And that is why I oppose Sarah Palin. Every voter in this country has the right to question and critique her knowledge and understanding of national and international issues as well as her record. And that is not personal, it is not an attack, it is democracy in action.

Catholic Alaskan woman | 9/15/2008

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