The issue that won’t go away
One of the most common questions I’m asked regarding this column is how do I not get myself in trouble with the things I write? I tell people after 20 years of doing this I know what subjects to steer clear of. For example you don’t ever talk about abortion. It is a passionate and polarizing topic and if you take a stand one way or the other you lose half the people in the room. Today I’m going to break that rule just a bit because of what’s happening nationally and at the local level.
Recently the bishop in the Albany Catholic Diocese did something few others would dare do. He called out politicians who are Catholic who don’t take a strong stance against abortion. Specifically he took issue with three politicians who turned out at a rally for Planned Parenthood. Being a journalist I received the same email everyone else did when the bishop chastised these individuals. I literally sat back in my seat and said, “Wow.” Whether you like the new guy or not, he certainly doesn’t pull his punches. As strong as he was in scolding these politicians (one federal, one state, and one local as he put it) he went out of his way not to name them. Anyone who pays attention to local politics could probably guess who they were but he left that part out; I’m assuming to soften the blow just a bit.
I waited to see how the media would cover it and for the most part the local press ignored the bishop’s letter. I myself was going to post something on Facebook but I knew it would turn into a free for all with people on both sides coming at each other, fangs out, to defend their position. Frankly some days I’m just too tired to police my social media page and remove the comments back and force between people laced with attacks and profanity. So I ignored it. A couple of others chose to talk about it and one newspaper in particular, that had a reporter at the rally, decided to name names so to speak. They then contacted the three Catholic Democrats to ask them what they thought of being taken to the woodshed by the head of the local church. Wisely they all resisted the urge to swing back at the bishop knowing that would only have made a bad situation worse. I’m sure some people felt the bishop should have minded his own business while others would say the future of the souls of local Catholics is precisely his business.
One newspaper, not this one, ran an editorial swiping back at the bishop and running pass blocking for the three politicians. They pretty much told the bishop he is meddling in things above his pay grade when he starts threatening eternal damnation for bad behavior. Again some might argue the Bishop wasn’t threatening anything, he’s merely reminding Catholics what the laws of the faith say and trying to keep those prodigal sons or daughters from wandering too far away from church doctrine.
Abortion is a horrible issue that this entire nation will have to confront in the coming year. With a republican in the White House and the GOP in charge of everything else it would seem assured a right leaning judge (or two) will get on the bench and eventually a case will come up testing Roe v. Wade. I just wish as we are forced to talk about these topics people could be honest. To those on the left who say republicans will outlaw abortion across the land if they strike down Roe that’s not true. If Roe got overturned the issue would go back to states to decide. To the same issue I wish people on the right would stop saying it would still be easy for women to get abortions if they did overturn Roe because in many states it won’t be. Some will pass so many restrictions it would force a woman to drive very far or buy airfare to end a pregnancy. On the issue of Planned Parenthood we also should be honest. Those secretly recorded tapes we saw a year ago (even if they were selectively edited) did not paint some of the people working there in a good light. The right is correct in saying they are a large provider of abortions but should also acknowledge they do offer other valuable services that have nothing to do with abortion. And the left should recognize that when you push for unrestricted abortion “period” you lose the argument with many people who want what they’d call reasonable restrictions, especially late term.
One thing is crystal clear. Something has shifted on this moral battlefield and this uncomfortable issue is suddenly front and center again with those on the “right to life” side of things feeling emboldened. That letter from the Bishop calling out those politicians in such a public way shows you that those who normally sit on the sidelines and wring their hands are ready to engage. It has been 44 years since Roe became law and most people would prefer not talking about it. That may not be an option anymore.