Links for 07/06/16 | National Catholic Reporter

Links for 07/06/16 | National Catholic Reporter by MSW. MGB: The reason to nurture Democrats for Life, et al, is because they have the real answer to reducing abortion - increased monies to families with extra children. Their GOP counter-parts see this as a wedge issue driving pro-lifers into the GOP. They would also never support needed family and teen parent education subsidies (both father and mother), because ultimately they want to use punishment to enforce sexual behavior, not reward it with family subsidies. For the right-wing, its all about sex and countering the sexual revolution. I have no room for that. This message works for young people, but they usually rethink abortion rights when they can be in the position to have one - or realize that they can't so it's not their place to say. For the rest, the pro-life movement has run out of options. TRAP laws were their last hurrah, since overturning Roe has been a dead issue since the Court declined to use overturning Roe as the reason to justify the Partial Birth Abortion Act. Roberts and Alito may have joined Thomas on TRAP, but that is because they construed the statute as written rather than the legislative intent and effect, which was unconstitutional. People who are serious about defending life need to get over Roe (it is settled, after Thomas retires there are 0 justices in the repeal camp - the only other one was Scalia), and use economic measures to reduce abortion.



My problem with Kaine, Biden, Cuomo, et al is that they don't speak truth to power, i.e., the bishops. These are lawyers who understand how and why Roe is good law (until the unborn are counted as legal people, their mothers have a right to be left alone in their decisions) and that overturning it on Scalia and the Federalist Society's theory that this is a state issue is wrong. Regardless of the fact you call constitutional law opinion based, those opinions have the force of law and are not going anywhere - nor should they. Giving states these powers over private matters allows too much mischief (like opposition to gay marriage) and too much intrusion (like criminalizing sodomy and birth control). The Reconstruction era taught us one important lesson - state governments, especially conservative ones, can't be trusted. The Bishops should quit working with them and Kaine should lecture the bishops on this publicly rather than resting on his faith being a private matter.



I've truly almost had enough of debating abortion. All the issues are settled. Anyone who gives either side money may as well be sending it down a rat hole.



USCCB staff should be competent enough on the issue of abortion - and brave enough - to tell their bosses the truth about the issue as it stands (as I have laid it out). Of course, the bishops cannot handle the truth and would like fire anyone who told it to them.