The AP recently put out a list of the 2008 Presidential candidates' religions. Between Republicans and Democrats, there are seven Catholics running for President. I assume this is a first. As a voter who is completely mostly undecided, I thought it would be interesting to see if there was a correlation between Catholic religions of those seven candidates and their position on the issue of life.*

Democrats

Sen. Joe Biden: There is no mention of this issue on his campaign website at all, so I had to check out NARAL's. Here is part of his statement:

I am a long-standing supporter of Roe v. Wade and a woman's right to choose. The Supreme Court's intellectually dishonest and paternalistic opinion in Gonzales v. Carhart makes clear that the Bush-appointed conservative majority is tipping the scales against Roe. I am concerned that the decision lays the groundwork for undoing Roe v. Wade and is a sad consequence of Bush's initiative to remake the Supreme Court. I opposed the nominations of Justices Roberts and Alito. I believe that the fundamental right of privacy should be protected, and if elected, I will nominate candidates to the Supreme Court who share my values.

Sen. Chris Dodd: He also has no mention of the issue on his website that I was able to find, and once again, I had to go to NARAL:

I have always believed in a woman's right to choose. It is a decision that should be safe, legal, rare and—above all—between a woman and her doctor. For 26 years in the U.S. Senate, I have never wavered in defending a woman's right to choose – and I never will.

He also wants to increase the availability of contraception.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich: This is an interesting case, as he's the only Catholic Democrat to openly say he thinks abortion is bad:

The fact is that most Americans, including myself, are uncomfortable with abortions and feel there are too many of them. At the same time, the vast majority of Americans recognize that there are circumstances in which a woman and her doctor should be allowed to make this most difficult decision without government intervention. To return to the days when woman could self-abort without penalty, but to imprison doctors who would help them, seems senseless, especially recognizing that a new abortion law would likely become known as "The Abortions for the Rich-Only Bill."

He's still obviously in support of abortion, and in the paragraph before that one, calls it a "wedge issue" used by Republicans and accuses them of hiding "from an honest up or down vote on abortion."

Gov. Bill Richardson is the fourth Catholic Democrat, and he follows the (Bill) Clinton line:

In January of 2007, Bill Richardson was named a "Champion of Choice" by NARAL-NM for his career spanning record of protecting and fighting for the right to choose. We can work together to make abortion safe, legal and rare.

Republicans

Sen. Sam Brownback has essentially ran a 100% pro-life campaign, and his position on abortion specifically spreads into other issues, including that of genocide in Darfur. He says:

I believe every life has intrinsic meaning and purpose, and that the termination of life is taken too lightly in our country today. Abortion ends a human life. It destroys an individual who could have lived and participated in our society. Already, it has eliminated tens of millions of children. I believe we should strive to fully embrace a culture of life through our national politics. I will continue to fight to protect life at every stage.

Fmr. Mayor Rudy Giuliani is perhaps the most high-profile Catholic in the race, and certainly his "lightning moment" is garnered the most attention about the issue of abortion so far in this race. From his website:

Rudy Giuliani supports reasonable restrictions on abortion such as parental notification with a judicial bypass and a ban on partial birth abortion – except when the life of the mother is at stake. He’s proud that adoptions increased 66% while abortions decreased over 16% in New York City when he was Mayor. But Rudy understands that this is a deeply personal moral dilemma, and people of good conscience can disagree respectfully.

Gov. Tommy Thompson is pro-life, but it doesn't seem to have the central focus that Brownback has. His website says:

Governor Thompson is pro-life and signed one of the nation’s first partial-birth abortion bans. Under Thompson, the number of adoptions in Wisconsin increased by 22 percent, while the number of abortions decreased by 37 percent. Just as he did in Wisconsin, Thompson would appoint strict constructionist judges who do not legislate from the bench.

I find it interesting that only 2 of 7 Catholics running for President are pro-life, especially given that it is maybe the only issue that is strongly identified as a "Catholic issue." I wouldn't advocate for Catholics to only vote for other Catholics, but an interesting aspect of the campaign to consider.

*Before someone points it out, I recognize that the Church has stands on lots of other issues, like the Iraq War, but Catholics are still most closely identified with the issue of life.

Labels: 2008 Watch, Biden, Bill Richardson, Brownback, Catholicism, Giuliani, Pro-Life, Tommy Thompson

Posted by Ryan S. on Monday, July 30, 2007 at 10:17 AM | Permalink |