Abortion Politics III: Choosing a Battlefront

The politics of abortion took an especially nasty, and bizarre, turn this past week when conservative Catholic writer and law professor Doug Kmiec revealed that he had recently been denied communion because of his public endorsement of Barack Obama’s candidacy. Thus, as in 2004, some conservative clergy and their lay supporters seem determined to turn the altar rail into a battlefront in the culture wars. Kmiec has made clear that he endorses Obama despite the senator’s pro-choice position. This puts him squarely within the scenario set out by the U.S. Catholic bishops in their statement "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship": There may be times when a Catholic who rejects a candidate’s unacceptable position may decide to vote for that candidate for other morally grave reasons. Voting in this way would be permissible only for truly grave moral reasons, not to advance narrow interests or partisan preferences or to ignore a fundamental moral evil." (No. 35) Kmiec, who served in both the Reagan and first Bush administrations, is clearly not seeking a "partisan preference" by making his choice. He has publicly cited the "truly grave moral reasons" that have led him to hold his nose about Obama’s pro-choice stance: his opposition to the Iraq War, his pledge to create a less rigidly partisan political culture, and his suspicion of excessive secularism. The rub for conservatives, however, is that Kmiec has had the courage to point out the futility of the political course they have been pursuing in recent years on life issues. For all the protest marches, for all their political ads, for all the Supreme Court battles, Roe is still not only the law of the land, but if it were overturned tomorrow, the defenders of life are ill-prepared to sway public opinion in the countless state legislative battles that would ensue. Calling people with differing views "Hitlerian" is not the way to sway public opinion. And, conservatives seem convinced that if they just deny communion to pro-choice politicians, this will do the trick. Setting aside the theological issues involved which I leave for smarter people than myself (like Pope Benedict XVI, who did not throw a fit when Nancy Pelosi and Ted Kennedy and others presented themselves for communion at his recent Masses here in America), making the altar rail the principal battlefield misses the opportunity that exists to really change the culture in a way that will actually defend life. The struggle is for the hearts and minds of the women who are facing a crisis pregnancy. The battlefield we should be fighting is at your neighborhood crisis pregnancy center. And, that is a place where the Church’s strongest armament, love, will make the difference. It is also where the Church’s sometimes necessary but best never used power to sanction and condemn will be hugely counter-productive. Americans who are concerned about stopping abortion need to reach out to the women contemplating one. We need to stand by them. We need to fight for medical assistance and financial aid for these women, many of whom are poor and young. They need counseling. They need free pre-natal care. They need someone to tell them they are not alone. They need a community of friends and family, and the extended family of their parish, to help them see their way clear to make the heroic choice to carry their child to term. They need artists and writers to celebrate their heroism. There is no shortage of work that can be done. And the example these young women provide, and the beauty of the children they bring to birth, will do more than a thousand protest marches to change the abortion-on-demand culture that all Catholics agree must change. Kmiec and others believe that Obama will be responsive to efforts to reduce the number of abortions in America. A group of Catholic legislators, some pro-life and some pro-choice, worked to pass legislation that aims to provide assistance to young mothers. That is where the battle should be fought – giving women choices other than abortion. Conservatives who are too invested in the old ways and the partisan advantages the old ways encourage have failed to change the culture. Doug Kmiec is prepared to try a new approach. He may be right, He may be wrong. But, he should not be denied communion for trying. Michael Sean Winters