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

The Freethinker

Home
Nonreligious
Biden dashes ‘pro-lifers’ hopes of Wade v Roe being overturned

Biden dashes ‘pro-lifers’ hopes of Wade v Roe being overturned

Last updated on: January 24, 2021 at 4:08 pm by Barry Duke

Biden dashes ‘pro-lifers’ hopes of Wade v Roe being overturned 2021-01-24T16:08:27+02:00 Barry Duke

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.

Joe Biden. Image via Wiki CC.

MORE bad news for Christians wingnuts: President Biden yesterday announced that his administration would codify Roe v Wade, a landmark decision by the US Supreme Court which ruled that the Constitution of the United States protects a pregnant woman’s liberty to choose to have an abortion without excessive government restriction.

Millions of evangelicals and Christians, according to numerous religious websites, believed that, despite Biden’s win, there was a strong possibility that the landmark 1973 ruling may well be be overturned by Trump-nominated conservatives appointed by Trump to the Supreme Court.

But the Christian Post reports today that the Biden administration announced yesterday (Friday) it will back abortion with a codified federal law in the event the ruling being overturned.

The White House said in a statement:

The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to codifying Roe v Wade and appointing judges that respect foundational precedents like Roe.

In the past four years, reproductive health, including the right to choose, has been under relentless and extreme attack. We are deeply committed to making sure everyone has access to care – including reproductive health care – regardless of income, race, zip code, health insurance status, or immigration status.

Image via YouTube

No surprise, then that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is furious. Its “Pro-Life” Activities head Archbishop Joseph Naumann, above, of Kansas City, Kansas, threw a wobbly:

We strongly urge the president to reject abortion and promote life-affirming aid to women and communities in need.

It is deeply disturbing and tragic that any president would praise and commit to codifying a Supreme Court ruling that denies unborn children their most basic human and civil right, the right to life under the euphemistic disguise of a health service.

March for Life President Jeanne Mancini also responded. “Abortion isn’t healthcare,” she tweeted.

It is heartbreaking but not surprising that on the day we commemorate the loss of 60+ million Americans to abortion the new administration is already aggressively leaning into abortion extremism.

The Trump administration enacted many anti-abortion policies, including reinstituting and expanding the Mexico City Policy and implementing the Protect Life Rule, and was praised for nominating three judges to the Supreme Court.

However, on Thursday, Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Biden will be rescinding his predecessor’s policies regarding abortion.

Fauci told board members of the World Health Organization that the administration will repeal the Mexico City Policy in the “coming days.”

It will be our policy to support women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights in the United States, as well as globally. To that end, President Biden will be revoking the Mexico City Policy in the coming days, as part of his broader commitment to protect women’s health and advance gender equality at home and around the world.

In response to the National Right to Life Committee’s release of its annual report, “The State of Abortion in the United States,” President Carol Tobias said:

The tragic legacy of Roe is more than 62 million lives lost to abortion. Every unborn child should be welcomed in life and protected in law. No mother should ever feel like abortion is her only option and no unborn child should ever be considered ‘expendable’.

Meanwhile the National Catholic Reporter revealed American Catholic bishops are split over how to deal with Biden. After I posted a piece on the spat between Archbishop Jose Gomez and Cardinal Blase Cupich, the NCR reported that:

A small but vocal minority wants to punish the new president for his support of legalised abortion, gay rights and birth control.

These are the bishops who consider Biden a bad Catholic who should not be allowed to go to Communion. But even the late Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, no liberal, thought this was a bad idea and told his priests not to play cop at the Communion rail.

A larger group of conservative bishops wants to avoid ecclesial penalties such as denying Biden Communion, but still want to wage war on the Democrats because of their support for these issues. These are the bishops for whom abortion is the most important issue, trumping all other concerns. They believe that there is no room for compromise.

A minority of liberal bishops would like to downplay differences with the administration and instead work with it on social justice and peace issues.

On Biden’s Inauguration Day, Pope Francis appeared to support this faction when he sent Biden a message that did not mention areas of disagreement. Rather, the pope prayed that:

God guide your efforts to foster understanding, reconciliation and peace within the United States and among the nations of the world in order to advance the universal common good.

Writing for the NCR, Thomas Reese said such a message:

Is not surprising. The Vatican diplomatic service is idealistic in its goals but realistic in its approach to nations, including the United States. It looks for areas of agreement where it can work with other governments rather than look for fights.

A large number of American bishops want to chew gum and walk at the same time. They prefer to support the administration on issues where they agree and oppose it where they disagree.

Reese named Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, as one of these “walkers” and chewers”.

After declaring his desire to work with Biden administration, Gomez went and spoiled it all by saying:

Our new President has pledged to pursue certain policies that would advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender. Of deep concern is the liberty of the Church and the freedom of believers to live according to their consciences.

Cupich (left) v Gomez. Images via YouTube

That got right up the nose of Chicago’s Cupich who tweeted:

Today, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued an ill-considered statement on the day of President Biden’s inauguration,. Aside from the fact that there is seemingly no precedent for doing so, the statement, critical of President Biden, came as a surprise to many bishops, who received it just hours before it was released.

He said that the statement was crafted without the normal collegial consultation necessary for such an important document.

Commented Reese:

Although Gomez may have wanted to chew gum and walk at the same time, the letter came off emphasizing the bishops’ differences with the new administration. The bishops came across as obstructionists at a time when even Republicans are mouthing bipartisan words.

The bishops’ faction that wants to wage war on the administration appears to still be in control of the bishops’ conference. Whether bishops like Cupich will be able to turn around the Titanic before it crashes remains to be seen.

• Please report any typos/errors to [email protected]

If you’d like to buy me a cup of coffee – and boy, do I get through a LOT of coffee keeping this site active – please click the link below.

I’d love a cup of coffee

Previous Post

January 23, 2021

Vatican money men jailed for embezzling millions

Next Post

January 24, 2021 Man accused of 'shameless conduct' by JW cult takes his own life

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Archive My Atheism News Opinion Reviews Uncategorized

Select a Month December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 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 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 March 2007 April 2006 February 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who said, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them"?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Stephen Paul John Peter

Books by This Author Books by The Freethinker

See All Titles »