Democrats lost Catholic and other Faith-Based voters in 2024. In 2020 Biden won the Catholic vote by five points. In 2024, Trump won the Catholic vote by twenty points. Democrats need to change their unconditional support for abortion rights, since every right has limits and restrictions. Democrats also need to explain that their policies are truly Prolife policies.
Failure to Respond to Pope Francis. No Democratic leader challenged the statement made by Pope Frances on September 13, 2024 that accused Democrats of killing babies. The silence was deafening and contributed significantly to the loss of Catholic and other faith-based voters. Responding respectfully but eloquently to the Pope’s statement was a wonderful opportunity for Kamala to explain what she, as a Christian, believed about her respect for human life and her faith-based views on abortion.
When Human Life Begins. Kamala talked frequently about a woman’s right to reproductive freedom but never talked about any responsibilities or limits to those rights. So, Trump’s inaccurate allegations that Democratic views were extreme went unanswered. Kamala could have seized the moment and explained how her traditional Christian belief that human life begins when ensoulment occurs – i.e., when God breathes a soul into a fetus — not at conception but sometime near fetus viability. The Catholic Church’s view as to when ensoulment occurs has changed over time and no pope has ever actually spoken ex-cathedra– i.e., with infallibility — as to when ensoulment takes place. The view of today’s Catholic Church leaders is that it occurs at conception. The traditional belief, as expressed by Saint Thomas Aquinas, is that ensoulment occurs sometime around the time of fetus viability – but certainly not at conception. About fifty percent of the time Nidation, the fertilized egg becoming attached to the womb, is not even achieved. So, believing that human life and ensoulment happens at conception means believing that around fifty percent of the time nature itself kills babies. That does not seem reasonable. Believing that human life starts at conception also means that, if a fourteen old girl is raped, she has no recourse but to carry an unwanted fetus to term. That does not seem consistent with belief in a loving and just God. In addition, such a belief can eliminate the use of IVF for those who are actually trying to have children. Furthermore, what does the Bible itself say about abortion? The subject of abortion is not scriptural since the Bible does not even mention abortion. However, in Exodus (21:22) there is a text that suggests support for abortion rights. As per Exodus, if a man strikes a woman and she suffers a miscarriage but is not otherwise injured, he shall be fined. If the women is injured, then it is an eye for an eye type of punishment.
Who is Prolife? Religious leaders advocate for peace and economic justice for all, and especially for the poor, the downtrodden, the displaced and immigrants. Thet are also greatly concerned about the climate crisis that currently threatens the quality of life for us all, and certainly for our children and grandchildren. The Papacy is properly critical of Trump’s cruel and inhumane immigration policies. Clearly the Republicans are not prolife. Democrats, on the other hand, actually support prolife policies as evidenced by their support for policies to mitigate climate change; support humane treatment of immigrants; and a broad pro family agenda. The Biden administration advocated for its American Families Plan which makes education more affordable and expands opportunity; provides economic security for families and expands child tax credits that help workers and families.
Responding to the Dobbs Decision. The citizens of the USA believe in many different religions — Christianity, Judaism, Islam – and have different views on abortion. Certainly, no one should celebrate having an abortion and the impact of the Dobbs decision on many women has been horrific. However, since the pro-life movement is really based on theological interpretations of when human life begins, Kamala and other Democrats should have provided a faith-based rationale for supporting abortion, but clearly within limits, not just legal, freedom-of-choice and adverse-impacts-on-women reasons.