Abortion and the Death Penalty (was Re: abortion litmus test)

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

Max replies to Doug:
>> Do Catholic pro-lifers score high on care for the poor? What's the gender
>> gap in the abortion polls?
>> Doug
>Don't know the answer to either question.  My reference was to
>the Catholic social teaching.  Under such a regime, this country
>would be much better off, though the gains would be somewhat
>offset by losses in the realm of reproductive rights.
>
>The pro-choice position has driven some such folks to
>consideratiion of all-around conservative doctrine and
>to single-issue voting for conservatives whom they
>would otherwise reject.  By contrast, the GOP is
>able to finesse the issue better and draw more
>consistently on pro-choice voters.

The Catholic social teaching also says that Catholics must be against the
death penalty, but nobody seems to say that we must go against the death
penalty to court Catholics in the US, probably because 'pro-life' Catholics
aren't so consistent on their 'adherence' to the Church doctrine nor their
professed 'pro-life' positions. It seems to me that anti-abortion positions
mainly come from general social conservativism, and not out of any
particular religious faith.

Moreover, one mustn't dismiss the pro-choice Catholics, who may in fact
outnumber anti-abortion Catholics, judging by their behavior and not by
what thye might say.

Besides, in my view, the Left should not adapt our programs and strategies
to the teachings of any particular faith. It discriminates against people
of other religious persuasions as well as atheists + agnostics.

Retreat from secularism is disastrous for women.

Yoshie