Opinion: Are the Democrats Dodging Abortion? | Newsweek Politics: Conventions

The Lessons of Notre Dame
Kenneth L. Woodward 5/19/2009 12:00:00 AM
On Sunday, Barack Obama became the first resolutely pro-choice president of the United States to deliver a commencement address at the nation's most resonantly Roman Catholic university. There were pro-life protests on the edge of the University of Notre Dame campus and thunderous applause from the graduating students. For the first time in the university's history, no American bishop was in attendance. So what was accomplished? And what should we take away?
SOCIETY
The Silent Issue
Lisa Miller 11/3/2008 12:00:00 AM
It's abortion, stupid. For conservative Christians in this election the most important religious issue isn't gay marriage, stem-cell research or Christmas trees on courthouse lawns. It is abortion (as it has been for at least the past 35 years, since the Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade). When they walk into the voting booth on Tuesday, can they look beyond their fundamental, conscience-driven opposition to abortion as a moral evil? Do they want to? If yes, they may vote for Sen. Barack Obama. If not, they will, despite any reservations, vote for Sen. John McCain.
OPINION
We Say We Want A Revolution
Markos Moulitsas 10/25/2008 12:00:00 AM
On Nov. 4, Barack Obama will be elected as the next president of the United States. The real excitement won't come from watching that foregone conclusion come to pass. No, the big question is, will Democrats nationwide simply "win" the night—or will they deliver an electoral drubbing so thorough that it signals the utter rejection of conservative ideology and kills the notion that America is a "center-right" country? Here are the key face-offs:
Campaign 2008
A Catholic Brief for Obama
10/17/2008 12:00:00 AM
George Weigel and his fellow McCain advisers are growing frustrated at the state of the campaign, and they should be. This election rightly continues to focus on the millions of Americans at risk of losing their jobs and their homes. The issue of abortion, of course, is tied to the nation's economic fortunes. In part, we endorsed Senator Obama because his tax-reduction plan focuses on the betterment of average families and those living at the margins. Center for Disease Control statistics reveal that prosperity directly affects the abortion rate far more significantly than Republican rhetoric pledging to outlaw abortion—a feat John McCain has failed to accomplish with nearly three decades in Congress.
CAMPAIGN 2008
'Health' of the Mother
Sarah Kliff 10/16/2008 12:00:00 AM
Using air quotes in any serious conversation is risky. Even more so during a presidential debate when the topic is abortion. So it was perplexing to many women when John McCain inserted them into a discussion on Wednesday about whether late-term-abortion bans should include exceptions for the mother's "health." Senator McCain's point was that health exceptions, which his rival Senator Barack Obama supports, have "been stretched by the pro-abortion movement in America to mean almost anything." But then, while describing what he called his opponent's "extreme pro-abortion position," McCain made air quotes when referring to the "health" of the mother.
OPINION
Pro-Life Catholics For Obama
George Weigel 10/14/2008 12:00:00 AM
In an election cycle filled with its share of quirks, oddities, and surprises, the emergence of Roman Catholic pro-lifers as leading supporters of Sen. Barack Obama—himself a favorite of the National Reproductive Rights Action League—must rank as one of the strangest of twists and turns. Whatever its effect on the election, this unexpected development may also portend a new hardening of the battle lines within the Catholic Church, no matter who is inaugurated president in January.