Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Nation & World

God and Country by Dan Gilgoff

New Religious Left Skirmish: Catholics for Choice Attacks Obama Pick

June 05, 2009 03:15 PM ET | Dan Gilgoff | Permanent Link | Print

By Dan Gilgoff, God & Country

Another skirmish between religious progressives and the religious left has broken out. The group Catholics for Choice, which supports abortion rights, has come out against the appointment of a progressive Catholic activist to direct the federal Health and Human Services Department's faith-based office.

The new HHS faith-based director, Alexia Kelley, is certainly not a hard-core conservative. An adviser to John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign, she has since led the progressive Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good, which has came under attack from the conservative Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights for its messaging around abortion.

"The Catholic Church believes that every human life—whether young or old, guilty or innocent, born or unborn—is both precious and sacred," Catholics in Alliance says on its website. "It remains as the foundation for all principles and elements of social teaching." But the group is more focused on social justice issues like fighting poverty and has promoted ways to reduce abortion that avoid curtailing abortion rights.

Catholics for Choice's president, Jon O'Brien, has issued a withering attack on Kelley's appointment because of her apparent support for some abortion restrictions. An excerpt:

From the beginning, Alexia Kelley directed CACG to ignore the question of access to abortion and reframe the debate in terms of reducing the number of abortions—although polls consistently show that the majority of Catholics support abortion rights. This language around reducing the number of abortions should be a huge red flag to anyone who believes in and seeks to defend a woman's right to choose. While evidence-based prevention methods can go a long way towards reducing the need for abortion, some women will always need access to safe and legal abortion and we must recognize that and ensure public policies support that access.

Alexia Kelley is on record with her support for restrictions on access to abortion, despite her organization's efforts to avoid the question of legalization at every turn. In an audio press conference prior to the 2008 election, Ms. Kelley agreed with other speakers who spoke out in favor of restrictions on abortion, saying, "Catholics in Alliance supports these restrictions as well."

In response, the progressive group Catholics United, closely allied with the White House, has put out a statement supporting Kelley's appointment. From Catholics United Executive Director Chris Korzen:

Catholics United is profoundly disappointed by Catholics for Choice's simplistic, incendiary, and unhelpful reaction to President Obama's appointment of Alexia Kelley to this important post. Alexia—my colleague and friend—is exactly the sort of leader we need in the Health and Human Services department's Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships office. Her experience, compassion, and sensitivity to diverse perspectives will be a tremendous asset to the administration's efforts to promote the common good.

O'Brien's statement, as well as his report attacking Catholics in Alliance and Catholics United for our own efforts to find common ground, is a roadblock to progress. It is intended as cover for Catholics for Choice's increasing irrelevance, and its inability to offer any real solutions to the challenges of our day. Despite annual expenditures of more than $3.5 million, the organization accomplishes little more than creating a hostile and divisive political climate—as evidenced by today's statement.

This is an unusual situation. Can you remember the last time a liberal group attacked a Democratic president's political appointment as too socially conservative?

With the Obama administration moving quickly to develop policies aimed at reducing demand for abortion, however, Catholics for Choice's attack may auger more liberal defections in the relatively near future.

Tags: HHS | religion | Catholicism | Obama administration

Tools: Share | | Comments (13) | Print

Reader Comments

Catholic for Choice

God blessed me with a rational mind and the ability to discern that a loving God does not want us to foster indiscrininate breeding leading to starving bloated stomach children suffering a cruel, brutish and short life when that same God has give us the means to choose otherwise.

abortion

there nis no such thing as a Catholic for choice. There are very few things that the church adamantly opposes and abortion is one of them. You can be pro choice.....you can be Catholic....but you can't be both at the same time. These [people who decide to pick and choose are the same ones who followed Martin Luther away from the true church.....if you don't like the rules, form a new religion and call it truth.....I don't think so....pathetic

Pro-choice Catholic

I am a Catholic.

Morality aside, I believe that the right to a safe abortion is a public health issue.It should be part of a health program.

On a matter related to women's health, people may be unaware that some employee health insurance programs impose a "rider" or extra premium for employees to receive maternity benefits. What kind of health program is that?

There are many "moral" issues in this world that people have to decide upon, individually, with advice and consent, including having an abortion, waging war, imposing taxes, upholding workers' rights, and on and on. We need to focus on what is fair an equitable for both sexes and for all income groups.

Add your thoughts

Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.

advertisement

U.S. News Weekly

Subscribe Now!

Order the new U.S. News Weekly digital magazine at a special low introductory price!

Dan Gilgoff covers religion for U.S. News & World Report. He is the author of The Jesus Machine: How James Dobson, Focus on the Family, and Evangelical America are Winning the Culture War, and is a former politics editor at beliefnet. E-mail Dan at godandcountry@usnews.com.

advertisement

NEWSLETTER

Sign up today for the latest headlines from U.S. News & World Report delivered to you free.

RSS FEEDS

Personalize your U.S. News with our feeds of blogs and breaking news headlines.

U.S. NEWS MOBILE

U.S. News daily briefings are also available on your mobile device.

Public Poll

Is increasing access to healthcare a moral or faith-based cause?

View Results

Follow Dan Gilgoff on: Facebook | Twitter | MySpace

Photo Gallery

Delegates arrive at a gathering of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation at Windsor Castle today outside of London today. Britain's Prince Philip is founder of the Alliance and is cohosting the event with the United Nations. The gathering features representatives from nine world religions and was kicked off by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Faith Photo of the Day

See what's going on in the faith world across the globe every day.

SPECIAL REPORTS

A Muslim man lifts his hands up during Friday noon prayers in the southern holy city of Karbala, south of Baghdad.

Secrets of Islam

A guide to the world's fastest growing religion.

The Maqbara hermitage at the Lama Foundation where a person can go on solo retreat.

Sacred Places

Explore the significance, history, and enduring power of places people consider most sacred.

Special Report: Women of the Bible

Women of the Bible

The "daughters of Eve" play many roles in the Old and New Testaments.

Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our Terms and Conditions of Use and Privacy Policy.
Make USNews.com your home page.