Obama: The Pro-Life Vote

Pro-life: what a mindless, empty term. As if anyone is pro-death.

But if you insist on using the term, if we can try to give it some reasonable definition like "seeking to enact policies that will reduce the number of abortions" (but gee, again, that covers pretty much everybody), you should be voting for Barack Obama.

Now don't take my word for it. I'm a secular humanist with liberal, probably socialist leanings. Instead, let's listen to someone with a little conservative cred. Douglas Kmiec is a law professor and author. He ran the Office of Legal Counsel for Presidents Reagan and Bush pére. He's Catholic, he's "pro-life," and he's voting for Barack Obama.

Why? Kmiec sees in Obama a president who can build bridges on divisive issues (those of us voting on the second abortion ban in a row in South Dakota know how divisive abortion is). More importantly, Kmiec sees in Obama policies that will actually do some good. Kmiec says the following of Obama's statements in the last debate on the need for education and support for adoption and for young mothers who choose to keep their babies:

This is not just debate posturing. It is consistent with Obama's successful effort to add language to the Democratic platform affirming the choice of a mother to keep her child by pledging pre- and post-natal care, funded maternity leave and income support for poor women who, studies show, are four times more likely to pursue an abortion absent some tangible assistance.

Some might ask, isn't John McCain, the self-proclaimed "pro-lifer," still a morally superior choice for Catholics? Not necessarily. McCain's commitment, as he stressed in the debate, is to try to reverse Roe vs. Wade. But Republicans have been after this for decades, and the effort has not saved a single child. Even if Roe were reversed -- unlikely, in my judgment -- it merely transfers the question to the states, most of which are not expected to ban abortion. A Catholic serious about preserving life could reasonably find Obama's educational and material assistance to mothers the practical, stronger alternative [Douglas Kmiec, "For Obama But Against Abortion," Los Angeles Times, 2008.10.17].

GOP rhetoric and abortion bans like South Dakota's Initiated Measure 11 won't save lives. Sensible, sensitive social policy operating within the bounds of constitutional rights will.

You want to be "pro-life"? Vote No on IM11. Vote for Barack Obama.