Thursday, April 24, 2008

Kmiec's Wishful Thinking on Obama and Abortion

Margaret Cabaniss writes at InsideCatholic:
Over on Slate's "Convictions" blog, Doug Kmiec outlines a way in which Obama could bridge the divide between the warring camps in the abortion debate ...

***
Would I be thrilled if a President Obama supported such legislation? You bet. (Standard caveats about contraception and recognizing the legal rights of the unborn apply. But hey, it would be a start.) Do I think it likely? Nope...

***
... For his (at times)
soothing rhetoric on the life issues, the precedent here argues otherwise: He has never before tried to pursue any sort of middle way on abortion, instead riding comfortably at the bleeding edge of liberal abortion laws. What would be the motivation to start seeking that common ground once he's already won the election?

[More]
Todd Aglialoro responds in comments:
You call Kmiec an "optimist," Margaret, but you omit his most wildly optimistic claim: that the measures he recommends would result in a "95% reduction" in abortions. We already have a a mishmash of abstinence and contraception education in this country, so that's nothing new. And in the age of the sonogram, how will a few pamphlets about fetal development provide any further disincentive to have an abortion -- to say nothing of a disincentive so strong that it will stop 3,800 abortions a day??

The kicker, of course, is that even these feeble, moderate measures are absolutely anathema to the abortion lobby, to which any national Democratic candidate MUST pledge obeisance.

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
So-Called "Catholic Reaganite" Doug Kmiec Endorses Obama [UPDATED]

"No'bama for Me, Thanks"

Can a Catholic Vote for Obama?

Obama's Pledge to Planned Parenthood: “I Will Not Yield"

Deal Hudson: "Barack Obama's Catholic Problem"

"Why American Catholics are Supporting Barack Obama

Catholics at the Ballot Box

How the Catholic Left Will Tackle McCain

Why Does Kmiec Criticize McCain for Positions on Which He Gave Romney a Pass?

Deal Hudson on "Douglas Kmiec and the Lure of Obama"

Douglas W. Kmiec on "The Moral Duty to Inquire"

Professor Bainbridge: "Will Catholic Reaganites Go for Obama?"

Deal Hudson: "Preacher Man: Barack Obama and the the Gospel of Liberalism"

"Sorry, Doug Kmiec, But This Catholic Isn't Buying Obama"

Ramesh Ponnuru on Douglas Kmiec and "Catholic Reaganites for Obama" [UPDATED]

Romney Advisor Says Obama "a Natural for the Catholic Vote"

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3 Comments:

At 4/24/2008 9:24 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Kmiec is either deluded or a complete charlatan.

 
At 4/24/2008 12:46 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

The only way to reduce abortions that much is to make women love children so much that money, and even shame, will not lessen the desire for them.

 
At 4/24/2008 1:45 PM, Blogger Fredi said...

You say you're pro-life and you're going to vote for Obama or Clinton?

What nonsense! Your conscience is in need of self-examination. Your support of either of these two candidates is outrageous, appalling and indefensible. My criticism has nothing to do with being single-issue minded. It has everything to do with a hierarchy of values of which you are in desperate need of a lesson.

 

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