McCain, Catholics and Abortion

John McCain is sitting pretty right now. While the Hillary and Barack slug it out, McCain can begin to frame the November election and to position himself as the candidate best able to attract crucial swing voters. And no voters have more swing in them than ethnic Catholics, concentrated as they are in such critical states as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin and Missouri. It is a mistake to think that all Catholics are driven by the abortion issue. In fact, it is one of the dirty secrets of American political life that while the most intellectually consistent positions on abortion are found among those with the most extreme pro-life and pro-abortion views, most Americans are deeply ambivalent about the issue. This ambivalence showed itself in various state referenda before Roe v. Wade removed the issue from the legislative process but it remains an uncomfortable fact for both political parties. The Democrats are largely beholden to pro-abortion groups. The GOP is largely beholden to pro-life groups. To the extent that these groups are organized, vocal and can deliver votes, especially during the primary season, they have dominated the debate. John McCain’s position on abortion is about as centrist as a Republican candidate can get. He supports the overturning of Roe and has promised to appoint judges who will not legislate from the bench. He does not endorse a constitutional amendment banning abortion, but instead supports throwing the issue back to the states. Elections are binary choices, so most people who are motivated primarily by a pro-life concern will find his position more congenial than that of either Democratic candidate. I know of no empirical polling data on this specific issue, but my hunch is that those voters who admit to ambivalence about abortion are the same voters who became known as "Reagan Democrats" in the 1980s. They see an unwanted pregnancy first and foremost as a tragedy. They support legal abortion in the case of rape or incest, and also in situations where fetal abnormality promises nothing but hardship for both child and parent. They do not support America’s current "abortion-on-demand" legal regime. I cannot agree with the logic – the Catholic faith sees no reason to punish the child for any of the sins attendant upon its conception, still less because the child is handicapped. But, the animating idea of such ambivalence is not unsound: Parents should deal with the consequences of their own decisions, but in cases where the parent has no moral responsibility for the unwanted pregnancy, these same voters want abortion to be an available, legal, safe option. McCain’s statements on the abortion issue are ideally suited to appeal to those who have not resolved its complexities within their own minds. He vows to appoint judges who will overturn Roe. But he goes beyond that. As his campaign Web site states: "The pro-life movement has done tremendous work in building and reinforcing the infrastructure of civil society by strengthening faith-based, community, and neighborhood organizations that provide critical services to pregnant mothers in need. This work must continue and government must find new ways to empower and strengthen these armies of compassion. These important groups can help build the consensus necessary to end abortion at the state level. As John McCain has publicly noted, ’At its core, abortion is a human tragedy. To effect meaningful change, we must engage the debate at a human level.’" It is difficult to see how anyone except the most ardent pro-abortion forces could quibble with such a claim. But, the two Democratic nominees are loath to offend the pro-abortion constituency. Therein lay McCain’s opportunity. He should be carefully choosing locations to address the issue – speeches at Catholic colleges in the next few weeks are advised – and try to make the Democrats defend the abortion-on-demand system we currently have. I am a lifelong Democrat. But the more I think about the number of abortions we tolerate in this country, the more I have to hold my nose when voting for a pro-abortion candidate. John McCain needs to persuade enough Catholic Democrats to stop holding their nose. Michael Sean Winters