Washington Post Publishes Opinion Pieces On Effect Of Religion And Abortion On Election

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 27 Feb 2008 - 8:00 PDT

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The Washington Post on Sunday published several opinion pieces examining how examining religion and abortion in the presidential election. Summaries appear below.

• Joe Feuerherd: The U.S. Conference Catholic Bishops' promotion of the "idea that abortion trumps everything, all the time, no matter what, is both bad religion and bad civics," Feuerherd, a former correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, writes in an opinion piece. According to Feuerherd, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) will be "deemed worthy of support" by the bishops because of his "antiabortion voting record," although he likely will not make an abortion ban his top priority if elected. The bishops "seem to have forgotten that it is not simply aspirations that matter, Feuerherd writes, adding that the bishops appear to be "more than willing to accept" antiabortion rhetoric "over results" (Feuerherd, Washington Post, 2/24).
  
  
• David Kuo: A "newly reconstituted religious right" that places less emphasis on opposition to abortion rights than older conservative religious leaders did will help "determine who wins the presidency for decades," Kuo, former deputy director of the White House Office on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, writes in an opinion piece. Kuo writes that the "new religious right" is "more progressive" and more interested in issues such as the environment, HIV/AIDS and poverty than in abortion. However, he adds that such "progressivism ... only goes so far," citing a Beliefnet.com poll of evangelical Christians that found 70% said "ending abortion" was important or very important (Kuo, Washington Post, 2/24).
  
  
• Samuel Rodriguez: Although Hispanic Christians "seem" to be a "natural GOP constituency" because of their "overwhelming" opposition to abortion rights, Hispanic voters are "looking to the Democratic Party" because of Republican positions on economic and social justice, Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, writes in an opinion piece. "While most white evangelicals limit their political agenda to abortion and marriage issues, Hispanic evangelicals embrace a broader agenda that also includes health care and education reform, alleviating poverty, help for Darfur and HIV/AIDS, climate change and immigration reform," Rodriquez writes (Rodriguez, Washington Post, 2/24).
  
  
• Amy Sullivan: More "moderate evangelicals are willing to give" the Democratic Party a "chance" in part because of "changes in the Democratic approach to abortion," Sullivan, an editor at TIME and author of "The Party Faithful: How and Why Democrats are Closing the God Gap," writes in an opinion piece. According to Sullivan, some Christian Democratic lawmakers have appealed to abortion-rights opponents by introducing legislation aimed at reducing the number of abortions, sitting down with Catholic leaders to discuss abortion and arguing that it is not necessary for "pro-life" candidates to be "actively anti-choice" (Sullivan, Washington Post, 2/24).

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