As a Catholic, my faith teaches that I should do everything I can to defend and respect the dignity of every human person. The right to life of the unborn, our treatment of migrants and refugees, the promotion of racial justice, the abolition of the death penalty, promoting peace, and opposing euthanasia are fundamental and necessary Catholic teachings.
We must uphold the sanctity of human life. That’s the thread that runs through all these life issues. This has been echoed by at least the last three popes, as well as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
My number one job right now is as a mother. The pandemic has brought the importance of this job to the absolute forefront of my life. I am quarantined with my five children, ages 7 to 16. I think of the old saying, “it takes a village to raise a child.” Now I feel like I am the entire village!
In the past, especially after my book was published, people would say to me, “Wow, FIVE kids! Are you crazy? How do you do it? You must be a SUPERMOM!” The truth is, I had a lot of help. My kids went to school all day. This meant someone else fed them lunch and cleaned up after them. I had a housekeeper to constantly help me with organizing, vacuuming, wiping, and laundry. The kids had friends, playdates, sports, plays, and other extracurricular activities where all I had to do was sign a permission slip or go to an occasional conference or parents’ night. On top of that, I’d say “do your homework!” occasionally.
Now I am praying to God to help me keep the whole thing together without losing my mind. For the first time in my motherhood I feel like “Yes, I actually have five children! Am I crazy?”
But complaining aside, it has been wonderful to be able to be so close to my family, to be so involved in their schoolwork and their lives, and to hear their voices loudly and clearly (sometimes too loudly). During this time, we have been devastated by our country’s reaction to this national crisis.
Children are smart. They know a bully when they see one.
Until recently, our family had not really been engaged in politics, and we always taught our kids to be the change they wanted to see. In other words, if they see that homelessness is a problem in our neighborhood, let’s organize a coat drive or volunteer at a soup kitchen. If they are bothered by inequality, that’s a call to do something about it—find a way to advocate for those who are not being treated with dignity. When we want to protect unborn children, we’ll volunteer at a shelter for women.
In the past, we did not get deep into public policy with our kids or talk about how the nuances of the Catholic faith relate to the Democratic and Republican parties. Over the past few months, however, it has overwhelmed our lives.
Children are smart. They know a bully when they see one. They are on TikTok and Instagram, and every day they see the divisive, hate-filled, openly racist speeches; reckless Tweeting and name calling; constant lying; corruption; nepotism; adultery; sexual assault allegations; and the endless hypocritical behavior by the candidate who supposedly stands up for Christian values.
In the face of this, is the correct response really just to look our children in the eye and say, “But what about abortion?” Do any of us want our children to grow up in an America that is barely democratic with a government they cannot trust? We are in grave danger of heading there.
I had a vision of raising children who were proud to be Catholic and proud to be American. Sadly, that vision has become blurrier. But I have hope. I believe that this is the right time for Joe Biden.
Every life is equally important, and we must work to protect and respect every human life. It is essential for Catholics to embrace a consistent ethic of life in order to truly and honestly separate ideology (a worldview that is based upon supporting a political party or candidate) from faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Faithful Catholics obey the church and the inspired leadership of Pope Francis, who we believe was chosen by the Holy Spirit to lead us as the successor of St. Peter.
I had a vision of raising children who were proud to be Catholic and proud to be American. Sadly, that vision has become blurrier. But I have hope. I believe that this is the right time for Joe Biden.
Intentionally taking a human life—whether it’s through abortion, assisted suicide, unjust war, or the death penalty—is against Catholic teaching. You can’t cherry-pick and say one life is more valuable than another. In the same way, the church teaches that there is a necessary connection between the right to life and the right to the quality and dignity of life.
Many Catholics often say that the “most vulnerable” among us are in the most need of protection in our society. I agree, but the most vulnerable are not just the unborn. This also includes the most powerless among us after they are born: the refugee, the undocumented immigrant, the child separated from their parents, the homeless, the hungry, the unemployed, and many other vulnerable people in our society.
Furthermore, racism is a grave injustice that leads people to devalue God’s children based on the color of their skin. Everyone is created in God’s image and viewing anyone’s life as somehow less important because of their race is a serious evil. Therefore, racism is clearly a life issue, an intrinsic moral evil, and an abomination in the eyes of God.
Unfortunately, there is a rhetorical tactic being pushed by some people in the church that is very difficult for faithful Catholics to argue against. Whenever we try to bring up these other teachings—which are right there in the gospel, the catechism, and the teachings of the popes going back centuries—they are dismissed as less important because abortion outweighs them all.
Many Catholics often say that the “most vulnerable” among us are in the most need of protection in our society. I agree, but the most vulnerable are not just the unborn.
People will argue that the slaughter of millions of innocent unborn lives must be the preeminent issue because they are under a clear and present threat. They will point out that God has created unborn children with no power to defend themselves. For this reason, they need all our attention. These other things all can be “worked out” eventually, but people will argue that we can’t deal with them now because this other issue is an emergency. “You can’t have human rights if you are not allowed to be born,” they will say.
When proponents of this line of defense use statements like “You support infanticide,” it’s a pretty easy way to shut down any concern for other life issues because—they will ask—what else can be as important as defending innocent babies? The problem is that by putting on blinders to all the other life issues—the causes that lead people to seek abortions—are ignored. Faithful Catholics who want to address these causes are demonized, vilified, and labeled as being somehow “less Catholic” than single-issue Catholics.
This begins to look like idolatry when the idea of ending abortion is raised to such importance that it is almost worshiped in and of itself. There is no consideration of how it is connected to other life issues, and other grave and urgent moral issues fade into the background and end up being dismissed as unimportant.
I believe that since Catholics are called to support protection of the right to life of every unborn child by civil law, logically (and morally) this idea cannot stop at birth. We have a civic obligation to add “quality of life” to the “right to life” and to strive to provide health care, nutrition, housing, employment, and fair taxation policies to all our citizens.
It is disingenuous to call for a compassionate society to protect the lives of the unborn without backing this up with compassionate programs for the born, through public policy.
Now here we are at the election, and I must vote.
It is disingenuous to call for a compassionate society to protect the lives of the unborn without backing this up with compassionate programs for the born, through public policy.
My faith impacts everything I do. As a Catholic and a believer in the gospel, I am called to make choices that serve the common good. That includes when I participate in our political system. The church teaches that we must take our vote seriously and discern, in light of Catholic social teaching, which candidates and ballot measures will best advance the common good. This is a big responsibility, and we must inform our consciences and spend a lot of time in prayer when making this decision.
In the United States, we Catholics play a significant role in national politics, but we certainly shouldn’t be under the illusion that ours is a Catholic society. All groups—Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims, nonbelievers, atheists, and people from many other faiths and belief systems—take part in our political process.
We have a de-facto two-party system in the United States. That’s just the way it is. The only two real options for president this year are Trump the Republican and Biden the Democrat. One of them will win. Neither candidate runs on a platform that is fully in line with Catholic teaching.
We do have the option of casting a vote for a third-party or write-in candidate whose platform lines up more closely with our own beliefs, which might allow us to walk home from the polls feeling great about how we were able to participate in our democracy while remaining completely faithful to our principles. In fact, I remember when the late great Mother Angelica of EWTN once said she wrote in “Jesus Christ” on her ballot.
My faith impacts everything I do. As a Catholic and a believer in the gospel, I am called to make choices that serve the common good.
While it was funny—and I can totally understand her reasons—casting a vote for a candidate who has no chance of winning is not grounded in reality. For me, this would be an individualistic, self-serving choice. If I truly want to participate in this election, I am left with a choice between two candidates.
Joe Biden is the candidate for the Democratic Party. In recent years, the Democratic Party has moved farther and farther to the left on the issue of abortion and has wound up with an extremely radical platform. They have pushed for relaxing restrictions on abortion as well as taxpayer funding for it. This represents a huge conflict with what the Catholic Church teaches about the right to life of the unborn.
Over the years, the pressure of this extreme position has likely influenced Joe Biden’s political (but probably not his personal) views on abortion. Based on this alone, it is easy to understand why some Catholics conclude that they can’t vote for a Democrat, even if I believe Biden’s platform does a better job of addressing every other social justice issue I’ve mentioned.
But it’s also true that the legality of abortion and the demand for abortion are two different things. The number of abortions goes down when social programs are put in place that compassionately address the reasons why women consider abortion. This might explain, in part, why the number of abortions drops significantly when mothers have access to social services and health care, while the abortion rate has risen under President Trump.
Whatever the causes, if we are concerned about reducing the number of abortions, it would be beneficial to study this data rather than simply siding with the candidate whose party’s platform simply uses language more in line with Catholic teaching.
As a Catholic, I believe that life issues begin with the family.
Let’s take a closer look at Trump’s “pro-life” platform. Although Trump has said he is “the most pro-life president in history,” and he has made a committed (and arguably successful) effort to appoint conservative justices who will have a significant impact on this country for years to come, as Catholic voters we owe it to ourselves to look at the big picture.
Look at the pandemic. The Trump administration’s inability to come up with a well-coordinated response to COVID has contributed to the deaths of almost 250,000 Americans. This number is growing with absolutely no end in sight. The administration made it clear that they are not going to take an active role in stopping it. We know, based on empirical data, that the majority of deaths have been the elderly, those with preexisting health conditions, and—at alarmingly high rates—people of color and the poor.
There is a video from one of President Trump’s recent rallies, where he said the virus “affects virtually nobody”! As a Catholic, I could not help but recall Pope Francis’s warning against a “throwaway culture,” where we do not value every human life equally.
Systemic racism is another life issue that is poisoning our culture. Donald Trump clearly is not bothered by systemic racism. We have seen Black men and women die with our own eyes, and we can only imagine how Black parents fear for the lives of their children as a result of the Trump administration’s indifference to centuries of racial oppression. Trump has dismissed calls for change and has referred to demonstrators and movements such as Black Lives Matter as dangerous Marxist uprisings. How is this pro-life?
Donald Trump wants to eliminate Obamacare, leaving millions of Americans without health care coverage. This is not pro-life.
As a Catholic, I believe that life issues begin with the family. Let’s look at the Trump administration’s policies for families, such as the separation of thousands of refugee children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. Over 500 of these children have still not been reunited with their parents. A truly pro-life, pro-family administration would drop everything right now to fix this crisis. Instead, the Trump administration is trying to find damning emails about Joe Biden’s son on a mysterious laptop. At the same time, the president is traveling around the country holding huge, in-person “super-spreader” rallies in order to drum up voter support from his base. This is not pro-life.
As a Catholic who believes in a consistent ethic of life, I cannot in good conscience vote for Donald Trump and the Republican Party in its current form. I fundamentally disagree with the claim that this party is “pro-life.”
Let’s look at the environment. Pope Francis has repeatedly taught that destroying the environment is a sin. God has entrusted care for creation to us. Air, water, and soil sustain us. Care for creation is a life issue. Donald Trump’s refusal to address climate change is making the Earth less inhabitable. This will inevitably lead to more poverty and more death. This is not pro-life.
As a Catholic who believes in a consistent ethic of life, I cannot in good conscience vote for Donald Trump and the Republican Party in its current form. I fundamentally disagree with the claim that this party is “pro-life.”
It would be fair to call them “anti-abortion,” but this worldview is certainly not “pro-life.” In fact, I wonder if the label itself has become so corrupted by ideologies and politics that Catholics and others who truly want to build a culture of life and who believe in a consistent life ethic might want to consider adopting a new label. After so many years of manipulation, lies, and hypocrisy, I worry that the term “pro-life” has become compromised beyond repair.
There are many life issues I believe will be addressed in a Biden administration. Over the past month, I have met many faithful Catholics in different organizations who are asking the same questions of the Biden campaign. I have confidence that the new administration will provide a platform for Catholic voices in an unprecedented way.
Clearly, we can take a look at the statistics that show that the abortion rate will decrease with the types of social programs that Joe Biden supports, which means that this will actually save lives. In that sense, there already is a pro-life voice in the Democratic Party. Joe Biden’s proposed policies will give women more alternatives to abortion, including adoption programs, access to pre- and post-natal care, and access to family income support. He has also proposed concrete plans for affordable health care, child care, and quality education. He supports policies for job training for women, equal pay for the work they do, and paid family leave. These are all pro-life, pro-dignity and quality of life, and pro-family programs that I can get behind.
We know that during the Obama administration that the abortion rate fell by 27 percent. I am confident that a Joe Biden administration can improve on that.
We know that during the Obama administration that the abortion rate fell by 27 percent. I am confident that a Joe Biden administration can improve on that. Reducing the number of actual abortions is the end goal for me, and it outweighs the idea of pro-life. As I have mentioned before, Trump can say he’s pro-life, but when he cuts social programs abortions go up. That’s just a fact.
But is there room for faithful, pro-life Catholics in the Democratic Party?
Unfortunately, it is true that the Democratic Party views abortion as a health care issue and primarily an issue of the rights and dignity of women while largely ignoring the baby’s right to life. Right now, the party is not an ideal home for a pro-life Catholic who believes that abortion is always immoral. The party can be a lonely place for a strongly pro-life Catholic, but there is indeed a place for us.
I look to heroic pro-life Democrats like Louisiana State Senator Katrina Jackson, who passionately advocates for voting rights for convicted felons, supports gun control, is working to abolish the death penalty, and supports increasing the state’s minimum wage. These are positions shared by the most liberal Democrats in the party. At the same time, she was a speaker at the 2020 March for Life in Washington, D.C., and she has pushed for legislation tightening restrictions on abortion in her state. Senator Jackson has earned respect from both sides of the aisle, and she is a glowing example of a passionate pro-lifer having a place in the Democratic Party.
One of my most profound takeaways from Pope Francis’ most recent—and in my opinion, most powerful—encyclical, Fratelli Tutti (On Fraternity and Social Friendship), is that the world is passing up a great opportunity to build solidarity as we face this global pandemic as a global community. Countries with vastly different governments, religious traditions, races, and creeds have a chance to unite to stop a common enemy: COVID-19.
If we as a global community can see the possibility of healing this world by joining hands despite our differences, how much easier might it be to try to work together as a country?
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After the pandemic, we have another opportunity—to rebuild our world together and work to fix all the problems that this crisis has exposed. If we as a global community can see the possibility of healing this world by joining hands despite our differences, how much easier might it be to try to work together as a country?
The current administration’s tactics have done nothing but divide us into tribes or sides. The current climate of doubling down on our ideologies is beginning to threaten our very lives. That is the ultimate life issue because it is all the life issues. It’s time for a change and it’s time to rebuild our country and our church for our children.
That’s why, with a crystal-clear conscience, I can happily say that I mailed in my ballot for Joe Biden.
Image: Chris Hardy on Unsplash
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