Congressman Todd Akin, running for the Senate in Missouri, made some ill-informed and insensitive remarks about rape, and people are calling for him to drop out of the race. I have no problem with that, even though, interestingly, a poll taken AFTER the remarks show him still ahead of his foe!
I'll let the GOP in Missouri figure out what to do. I'm more interested
in something that came out of the Romney-Ryan campaign.
Mitt Romney condemned what Akin said about rape. But then campaign
spokesperson Amanda Hennenberg issued the following statement on behalf of the
campaign:
"Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin's
statement. A Romney-Ryan administration would not oppose abortion in instances
of rape."
Of course, the Catholic Church opposes abortion even for pregnancies
resulting from rape - why kill the innocent child for a crime someone
else committed? - and so if this is indeed Ryan's new position he is going
against Church teachings.
Maybe he doesn't fully understand Church teachings on the issue. Heck, he
liked Ayn Rand for a long time, and listed Rage Against the Machine as a
favorite band even though the band's lyrics attack much of what he stands for.
He needs to hear from Catholics about this. Perhaps we can get him to clarify his position.
Meanwhile, Romney has said he not only would allow abortion for rape, but also incest (and the life of the mother).
While rape and incest are terrible things for a woman to suffer, it doesn't alter the fact that the child is guilty of nothing, and is being killed.
If Romney says he's against abortion because it is the taking of an innocent human life, then he is being inconsistent here as the children of rape and incest are also innocent human beings. And if he is only saying this because it's the politically expedient thing for a Republican presidential candidate to say, shame on him.
In either case, this doesn't do much to reassure pro-lifers about Romney.
{UPDATE: Ryan later explained his position. He still opposes abortion in cases of rape, but said that Romney as the head of the ticket sets the agenda for the campaign, and that at least it was a step in the right direction.}
While rape and incest are terrible things for a woman to suffer, it doesn't alter the fact that the child is guilty of nothing, and is being killed.
If Romney says he's against abortion because it is the taking of an innocent human life, then he is being inconsistent here as the children of rape and incest are also innocent human beings. And if he is only saying this because it's the politically expedient thing for a Republican presidential candidate to say, shame on him.
In either case, this doesn't do much to reassure pro-lifers about Romney.
{UPDATE: Ryan later explained his position. He still opposes abortion in cases of rape, but said that Romney as the head of the ticket sets the agenda for the campaign, and that at least it was a step in the right direction.}
Pax et bonum
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