This from the BeliefNet Archives. Wallis, a leading figure in the so-called "religious left," a term he dislikes. In his book The Soul of Politics, Wallis argues that the old political categories of left and right are no longer relevant.
This article is a classic example. There are many on the so-called political left who don't believe in abortion on demand.
Many Democrats fail to comprehend how fundamental the conviction on "the sacredness of human life" is for millions of Christians, especially Catholics and evangelicals, including those who are strongly committed on other issues of justice and peace and those who wouldn’t criminalize abortion even as they oppose it. Liberal political correctness, which includes a rigid litmus test of being "pro-choice," really breaks down here. And the conventional liberal political wisdom that people who are conservative on abortion are conservative on everything else is just wrong. Christians who are economic populists, peacemaking internationalists, and committed feminists can also be "pro-life." The roots of this conviction are deeply biblical and, for many, consistent with a commitment to nonviolence as a gospel way of life.
Hillary Clinton is a great example; a Democrat who has been reminding her party of the value of human life:
...the work of the Clinton Administration and so many others saw the rate of abortion consistently fall in the 1990's. The abortion rate fell by one-fourth between 1990 and 1995, the steepest decline since Roe was decided in 1973. The rate fell another 11 percent between 1994 and 2000, from about 24 to 21 abortions for every 1,000 women of childbearing age.
But unfortunately, in the last few years, while we are engaged in an ideological debate instead of one that uses facts and evidence and commonsense, the rate of abortion is on the rise in some states. In the three years since President Bush took office, 8 states saw an increase in abortion rates (14.6% average increase), and four saw a decrease (4.3% average), so we have a lot of work still ahead of us.
(Read the rest of her speech here)
The strength of Hillary's speech lies in the respect she's shown for the Republican position without compromising her core values, and for her challenge to her own party to establish a culture of life.
The Village Voice has a great article on Hillary's speech.
1 comment:
Thanks for this post, Kevin. I wrote about Wallis's article on my blog (with a tip of the hat to you, of course). Peace.
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