Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Catholic News

Home

Home
Catholic
Religion News
Pro-life Dems disappointed by Pelosi’s re-election as House minority leader

Pro-life Dems disappointed by Pelosi’s re-election as House minority leader

Last updated on: December 1, 2016 at 6:34 pm by CNA Daily News

Pro-life Dems disappointed by Pelosi’s re-election as House minority leader 2016-12-01T18:34:00+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Washington D.C., Dec 1, 2016 / 11:34 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pro-life leaders have expressed their dissatisfaction as House Democrats re-elected pro-abortion Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) as the House Minority Leader.

“We have been in trouble since 2010, and failed to realize that we have alienated parts of our party, including the pro-life wing. And by making the platform more supportive of abortion, taxpayer funding of abortion, it further pushed people away,” Kristen Day, executive director of Democrats for Life of America, told CNA on Wednesday.

“We need a leader that’s going to pull people together and make a change, rather than business-as-usual,” she continued.

Pelosi was re-elected by House Democrats as the Minority Leader on Tuesday, winning 134 votes to 63 for Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio).

Pelosi, 76, has served in Congress since 1987. She is a long-time abortion advocate who has won the praises of Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Rights Action League. Current Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards’ bio reveals she formerly served as Pelosi’s deputy chief-of-staff in the House.

The congresswoman was criticized by NARAL earlier this year for saying, “I don’t believe in abortion on demand,” although she still affirmed that “woman have the right to make their own decisions” about pregnancy.

The president of the pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List, who chaired President-elect Donald Trump’s pro-life coalition during the presidential campaign, stated Tuesday that “Nancy Pelosi is a chief purveyor of voter-rejected Democratic abortion extremism.”

“Her re-nomination as Minority Leader signals Democrats would rather continue to be in the minority than stray from their pro-abortion orthodoxy,” Dannenfelser said

Her opponent in the race for House Minority Leader, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), was formerly on the board of Democrats for Life.

Yet in choosing their next Minority Leader, the Democrats would have ended up with a pro-abortion Catholic either way, as both Pelosi and Ryan are Catholics and support abortion access.

Ryan admitted last year in an op-ed that he had changed his mind on abortion, citing the Gospel of Matthew “judge not, lest ye be judged” to explain his decision.

Ryan insisted that “there is no easy answer” for some “complex and difficult” pregnancy decisions, and added that “the heavy hand of government must not make this decision for women and families.”

Ryan’s explanation for his decision was flawed, a theology professor at the Franciscan University of Steubenville explained. “If we were to outlaw abortion, we’re not claiming to stand in judgement over anyone’s soul any more than we do when we outlaw murder and stealing and fraud,” Dr. Donald Asci told CNA.

“The pro-life position would be that all abortion should be removed from the discussion as an option in these stressful situations,” he added. “The sanctity of the life is what should be made very clear to all involved. And then you go forward in doing the best you can with whatever the particulars of the situation are.”

The Democratic Party’s strong platform on abortion called for the repeal of the Hyde and Helms Amendments’ prohibition of taxpayer funding of abortions domestically and in foreign aid. The platform and the strong pro-abortion support of the party’s presidential nominee Hillary Clinton turned off some Democratic voters in the recent election, Day said.

“I’m sure that that played a role,” she reflected. “I know there are a lot of pro-life Democrats who really struggled, and didn’t vote for her [Clinton] because of that.”

With Pelosi at the helm for House Democrats, there will soon be debates in the House about abortion – for example, an effort to defund Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider.

Although the Hyde Amendment prohibits federal funding of abortions, pro-life leaders say that funding of Planned Parenthood, like through Medicaid payments, frees up other resources for them to perform abortions.

Democrats should be careful “not to put Planned Parenthood as the line in the sand,” Day insisted, but should work to redirect their funding to community health centers that provide “access to care” without doing abortions.

They should also look for common ground with Republicans in health policy, she said, like keeping prenatal care and access to insurance for people with pre-existing conditions.

Previous Post

December 1, 2016

Three ways to obtain an indulgence for the 100-year Fatima anniversary

Next Post

December 1, 2016 This lone Jesus statue survived the Tennessee wildfires

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many clean animal pairs were in Noah's Ark?

Select your answer to see how you score.

5 7 6 3