Abortion, Politics and the Christian Faith

Abortion was a hot issue in the recent Presidential election. But it was not the only issue. My wife recently filled out a form sent to her from the organization "Priests for Life." The form contained two questions that caught my attention. The first question was if she believed in abortion. That was an easy question to answer because both my wife and I are pro-life. The second question concerned who we voted for the the Presidential election.

I heard that many religious organizations including the Catholic church were encouraging people to vote for the Republican candidate because he was pro-life. First, I don't think John McCain is truly pro-life. His votes against federal funding to help troubled young pregnant woman certainly don't reflect a pro-life stance. Also, for years our Congress was controlled by Republicans and Roe vs Wade was not challenged.

Second pro-life should not only include unborn babies. We can't kill them before they are born, but we can sentence them to a life of war against terrorism after they become 18 and join the Military Reserves? We allow them to serve repeatedly (sometimes resulting in health problems) because we don't want conscription? And we should not have voted for a pro-choice Presidential candidate because the lives of the unborn are more important than the lives of the soldiers fighting in Iraq? We should not vote pro-choice and we should abandon the homeless and the unemployed while jumping to conclusions and calling them all lazy? We should not vote pro choice but we should abandon those who lost their homes to foreclosure while assuming that they should have foreseen the current economic crisis and not bought a home? Those who voted pro-life voted for water boarding in GITMO. Those who voted pro-life voted not to give peace a chance. Somehow, the above analysis does not reflect a good Christian. In my opinion, it reflects pro-life bigotry.

The University of Notre Dame in Southbend, Indiana, recently invited President Obama to speak at the commencement ceremony. Wow! Did that cause a commotion! And, in my opinion, the reasons were probably based on political as well as pro-life issues. However, when the Bishops and Priests step into the arena and dictate who we should vote for, then they have extended their influence beyond their normal boundaries. The issues are complex and should not be ignored for the sake of pro-life.

I voted for Obama because I strongly feel that the Republican party is cold-blooded at the Federal level. The Republican party does not have the adequate tools to take us out of our current recession recession. They have a narrow preference of methods to increased the national debt. Republicans increase the national debt via tax cuts and tax incentives the Federal government can't afford. But recovery from a recession requires more than tax cuts and tax incentives. The Republican party must transform itself into a more compassionate party and stop balancing the budget on the backs of the poor and elderly. Another words, instead of empty talk about Christianity and creating a huge government via the Gay Marriage Amendment, the Republican party should practice Christianity at the Federal level. That means pro-life regardless of age.