Opinion Pieces Comment On Obama's Notre Dame Speech, Abortion Debate

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 21 May 2009 - 6:00 PDT

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Several newspapers recently published opinion pieces regarding President Obama's commencement address at the University of Notre Dame. Summaries appear below.

~ Cal Thomas, Washington Times: "Put aside the question of whether" Notre Dame should have invited President Obama to speak at its commencement ceremony on Sunday and "[f]ocus, instead, on [his] remarks and whether he is serious, or can be made so, about actually reducing the number of abortions in America," syndicated columnist Thomas writes in a Washington Times opinion piece. "Don't put aside, however, the argument that there is only one reason to even want to reduce the number of abortions and that is that what is being killed, terminated, evacuated (choose your term) is, in fact, human life," Thomas adds. "In speaking of 'original sin,' the president hit upon why abortion has been so easily tolerated for so long," he writes, adding that Obama "spoke of 'self-interest' and 'crass materialism' but did so in the context of economics, not abortion." Thomas reports that Obama called for making adoption "'more available'" and providing "'care and support for women who do carry their children to term.'" Thomas notes that Obama's speech also included "an appeal for discussion and respect for people with different views," which was "a good beginning, but the ending is what counts, and the initial actions of this president when it comes to abortion and stem cell research have not been pro-life" (Thomas, Washington Times, 5/19).

~ Tim Rutten, Los Angeles Times: After his commencement address at Notre Dame, "it's now clear that the president is the rhetorical equivalent of a 'money player,'" which is the "kind of competitor who steps up and delivers in the big games," Rutten writes in a Los Angeles Times opinion piece. Notre Dame's invitation for Obama to speak at commencement and receive an honorary degree "bec[a]me an engine of controversy" because of protests from "reductionists," or conservative Catholics "who insist on bringing the broad sweep of Catholic social morality down to a single issue -- abortion," Rutten writes. However, Obama "negotiated the situation with remarkable ease," Rutten continues, adding that Obama was "speaking … to three audiences far from South Bend on Sunday." The first audience was the "crucial bloc of Catholic voters who seem to be looking for ways to remain in the Democratic Party," he writes. In addition, Obama was speaking to "those Catholic Democrats in public office ... who are under intense pressure from the reductionist bishops in their home dioceses" and to the U.S. Senate, which will likely ask Obama's Supreme Court nominee about his or her views on abortion during confirmation hearings, Rutten continues. He concludes, "Even in Washington's charged partisan atmosphere, it will be hard to ignore the president's call for civility at Notre Dame" (Rutten, Los Angeles Times, 5/20).

~ Clarence Page, Chicago Tribune: Obama "appropriately promoted" the "ability of adversaries to work together on mutual interests" in his commencement address, Page writes in a Tribune opinion piece. Page adds that the speech was "classic Obama the pragmatist: Look past ideology, try to ignore disagreements and work together on mutual interests." Obama said that "at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable," Page writes, adding that it is "because Americans hold no values more dear than 'life' and 'choice.'" Page adds that "[i]n the abortion debate, those values clash head-on." However, Obama's "eloquent come-together oratory enabled him to leave the university like a hero, even though he glossed over the thorny specifics that drive wedges between people of goodwill when words are hammered into law," Page continues. "For now, by focusing on civility, the president apparently hopes to defuse the abortion powder keg long enough to address his higher priorities," Page writes, concluding, "The economy, national security and health care are going to be tough fights. But they're probably not as 'irreconcilable' as today's culture war between 'life' and 'choice'" (Page, Chicago Tribune, 5/20).

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