V.P.'s Confusion on Abortion

As I sat and watched the Vice-Presidential debate last night several things went through my mind, but the one issue that was raised that I wanted to address today is how each man dealt with the issue of abortion. Paul Ryan was clear, concise, and cogent in his answer. He stated that his faith impacts everything he does. He articulated his position that life begins at conception which is the teaching of the Catholic church of which both he and Joe Biden are members. Ryan said that a Romney administration will seek to protect the life of the unborn and would allow for abortions in the cases of rape, incest, and the life of the mother being in danger if the pregnancy continued. Joe Biden articulated his longstanding membership in the Catholic church and that he is a devout Catholic who is personally in agreement with the position of the Catholic church which teaches that life begins at conception. Then he qualified his statement by saying, "But I do not seek to impose my beliefs on others. I believe a woman should hae the right to choose what to do with her own body." Now I've heard this sort of double talk from others who seek to appease abortion advocates by saying essentially, "Personally I'm against it, but I don't push my views on others." The perspective espoused by V.P. Biden is terribly problematic. I would submit that for Joe Biden to say, "I'm personally against abortion but don't feel that I have a right to impose my views on others" is intellectually inconsistent and religiously hypocritical. Mr. Biden is saying that he will not impose his moral conviction that abortion is the taking of a life upon others, but through his personal efforts and those of the current administration he imposes the support for abortion on those who supposedly share his personal convictions against it. So Mr. Biden will not impose restrictions on abortion which he says he personally opposes, but he will impose support for abortion on those who oppose it. By support for abortion I'm referring to Federal funding for international abortions (President Obama's very first executive order provided for such funding), the inclusion of abortion provisions in Obama Care, support for Roe vs. Wade and his concern that newly appointed Supreme Court Justices may overturn that decision if a Romney/Ryan ticket wins, his support for HHS Secretary's mandate that contraceptives be provided for in the health care plans of every business in America. Mr. Biden sanctimoniously declares that he will not "impose" abortion restrictions, but he has no qualms whatsoever imposing support for abortion on millions of Americans. His duplicity is revealing. Additionally, the V.P. has no reservation about imposing his moral convictions in other matters on others. For example, he is morally opposed (or seemingly so given the vast energy spent on opposing domestic energy exploration) to utilizing our vast domestic supply of coal, oil, and natural gas resources. He works tirelessly to prevent their use thus imposing his moral will on the rest of the country who believes we should be utilizing these resources to achieve energy independence. Secondly, the V.P. champions without apology a policy of stealing from the rich to give to the poor (euphemistically known as "income redistribution."). Mr. Biden sees income redistribution as a moral imperative. Funny thing that some moral issues are held to so strongly that they impact his policy, but the value of a human life is not one of them. Mr. Biden is not only logically inconsistent but he is a spiritual hypocrite. Paul Ryan stated that his faith impacted every aspect of his life. That is the only thing that a genuine faith can do. James tells us, "faith w/o works is dead"(James 2:20). We only really believe that which motivates us to action. It is a convenient way to frame the discussion to say that a person will not "impose" their views on another, but this is dishonest. Every law is the imposition of morality upon others. The only question is "what morality" will determine the law. The law of the land currently is a law that supports the murder of innocent unborn children. This is a morally reprehensible law, not based upon Scripture, but secular humanism. Mr. Biden cannot at the same time be a devout, practicing Catholic and avid supporter of abortion rights. These two positions are diametrically opposed. Any claim to the contrary creates an inevitable dichotomy that reveals hypocrisy. Mr. Biden says he is against abortion, but the action he has taken in public office does not bear this out. His professed faith is not practiced, thus impugning his profession. If a person believes that life begins at conception and that abortion is the taking of an innocent life, he/she cannot then support the taking of unborn life and require others to do so against their conscience unless he/she is deceived. It is no faith at all that fails to act in a manner consistent with that faith. In the case of Mr. Biden, it is not that he "fails to impose" his views on others that is the problem. No professing Christian imposes their views, but if they truly believe a matter they will of necessity advocate for their view, declare their view, and defend their view. More telling is that Mr. Biden not only fails to advocate for and defend the life of the unborn, but he deliberately advocates for the taking of human life and for coercing others to support this same grizzly business. That's all for now. Steve Smith