Catholics for Obama
Sept. 9, 2008
I'm a practicing Roman Catholic and my wife is finishing her PhD in Theology, so it might seem odd that I'm supporting Barack Obama in the election despite his support for Roe v Wade, a decision that the Catholic hierarchy maintains must be opposed by the faithful. My answer to this criticism is that I don't believe substantial change in the law is even possible given the current US constitution and sentiment in the country. Other than an 8 year gap, we've had nothing but pro-life presidents since Roe v Wade, and not much but lip service has been paid to overturning it. In fact, my cynical side believes the Republicans would rather keep the issue alive for as long as possible in order to keep waving the abortion flag to rally their supporters every 4 years. Even if abortion were illegal, I'm not sure we'd be saving that many lives since desperate women might still choose to get the procedure in an unsafe environment.
Given that I think we're stuck in our current state of affairs, what can be done to save the lives of unborn children? Probably the biggest effect on the abortion rate is the state of the economy, especially as it relates to the poor. Poverty is the single greatest cause of abortion, not convenience. During the 1980s when economic growth was high but the fruits were not shared among all income classes, the rate of abortion increased 14.2%. From 1990-2000, another period of high economic growth but evenly shared due to progressive taxation and increased social programs, the annual abortion rate decreased 34%, despite the same legal situation. That reduction in poverty resulted in over 2.3 million less abortions than might otherwise have occurred. (Citation)
Therefore, it is my contention that reducing the poverty rate, increasing economic growth, and sharing that growth broadly in our economy, will save more lives than posturing over judges or passing weak parental notification laws. I believe that Barack Obama's policies will do more for eliminating poverty and restoring America's economic strength than John McCain's, which will in the long run eliminate more abortions.