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In addition to its anti-life policies that are in direct opposition to Catholic Church positions, such as its championing of an unwarranted and grievous war in Iraq and party-platform support for the disastrous system of capital punishment, the Republican record on abortion is abysmal.
When President George W. Bush took office in 2000, abortion rates were at a 24-year low (Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life). During eight years of policies that have left millions more families without health insurance, that have increased unemployment and stagnated wages, and that have cut drastically the support services for people in poverty, the trend toward significantly lower abortion rates has stalled (FactCheck.org).
Why? Three-quarters of women who have had abortions said they did so because of economic desperation (Alan Guttmacher Institute). Republican policies have resulted in worsening conditions for those in poverty — conditions that make unplanned pregnancies more vulnerable. As Christian ethicist Glen Stassen states, “Abortion is not separate from economic policies.”
No one wants to have an abortion! It is a decision made in desperate circumstances. To vote for Republican candidates and their policies that further the economic crises of women and children in poverty (all the while ignoring the thousands of lives lost in war) is in no way pro-life.
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