LAC News
Abortion in the Name of God
By By Macey Geis
August 2009

President Obama likes to trot out wolves and declare that they are sheep.  For instance, his recent nominee for Surgeon General, Regina Benjamin, is touted as a devout Catholic whose religious values affect her every day decisions.  However, one needs only to look at how she reconciles her Catholic beliefs with her pro-abortion agenda to see that this sheep looks suspiciously like a sharp-toothed wolf. 

White House spokesman Reid Cherlin claimed that Benjamin “supports the president’s position on health care issues.”¹  Unfortunately, Obama’s position on reproductive issues includes a pro-abortion agenda at the top of his list.  His pro-abortion views are especially worrisome considering his huge influence on the current overhaul of our health care system.

The Obama administration has done nothing to indicate that they want to rule out abortion in health care reform, even if abortion is funded with taxpayer dollars.²  In fact, one Representative brazenly admits that abortion will be covered.  Aside from explicitly stating that he is pro-abortion, Obama opposed legislation that prohibited partial-birth abortion while he served in the United States Senate.³ 

Furthermore, Obama has chosen health advisors, such as HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and now Benjamin, who are unwaveringly pro-abortion.  Obama’s budget chief even stated that he would make no effort to rule out funding for abortion if it were included in the new legislation.⁴

The facts point to an obvious conclusion: Obama is dead set on providing for abortion in health care reform.  Following her promise, Benjamin is too.

But this wolf’s teeth are sharper than one would suspect.  According to Life News, while Benjamin served on the board of the American Medical Association, she strongly urged that we teach all of our future physicians how to perform abortions and better equip them with the knowledge to perform the abhorrent procedure.⁵  She wants abortion at the very center of education. 

Benjamin even wants to promote and legalize abortion in other countries, especially those that are pro-life.⁶  She currently serves on the board of Physicians for Human Rights, an international group that aims to pressure pro-life nations to adopt abortion rights.  While on the board, Benjamin completely opposed President Bush’s Mexico City policy, which prohibited funding abortions abroad with our tax dollars.⁷  Instead, she supports efforts to ratify CEDAW, a U.N. treaty that promotes radical abortion practices.

As surgeon general, Benjamin would head the committee charged by Obama with making decisions for Americans about their health care.  This would place her in the prime position to mandate abortion coverage in taxpayer-funded health care benefits.  Many pro-life Americans will have to choose between violating their consciences by supporting a practice they morally oppose or being assessed tax penalties.⁸ 

Many would not suspect such liberal views from this woman, considering her religious affiliation.  After all, she once stated, “Church was always a very important part of my life … I believe I am carrying on the healing ministry of Christ.  I feel obligated to help continue His works.”⁹  Interesting.  So how does killing an unborn child constitute a “healing ministry of Christ”?  

Benjamin’s public policy views are completely antithetical to the moral teachings of the Catholic Church, which has always been unapologetically pro-life (and which begs the question of why the Catholics appointed by this president are not). 

In fact, President Obama has routinely appointed pro-abortion Catholics to his cabinet — such as the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture — to make it seem as though he seeks common ground with religious Americans.¹⁰  But the president really just wants to placate folks like you and me.  Benjamin is merely one more in a long list of key players in the president’s deceptive game plan.

Make no mistake; giving this woman the power to control our health care system would force American families to support her desire to expand abortion. 

ENDNOTES

¹ Douglass, William and Margaret Talev, “Obama’s surgeon general pick: a Catholic who backs abortion rights,” Miami Herald, July 14, 2009, as found at http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/AP/story/1141814.html.

² Ertelt, Steven, “President Claims He Doesn’t Want Any Funding for Abortion in Health Care Bill,” July 22, 2009, as found at http://www.lifenews.com/nat5258.html.

³ K. Wilson, John, The Improbable Quest, Oct. 30, 2007, pp. 147-148.

⁴ Ertelt, Steven, “President Claims He Doesn’t Want Any Funding for Abortion in Health Care Bill,” July 22, 2009, as found at http://www.lifenews.com/nat5258.html.

⁵ Ertelt, Steven, “Obama Surgeon General Pick Regina Benjamin Wanted Docs to Learn About Abortions,” July 13, 2009, as found at http://www.lifenews.com/nat5208.html.

⁶ Shibler, Ann, “Surgeon General Nominee Regina Benjamin,” New American, July 16, 2009, as found at http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/usnews/health-care/1426.

⁷ Ertelt, Steven, “Obama Surgeon General Pick Regina Benjamin Wanted Docs to Learn About Abortions,” July 13, 2009, as found at http://www.lifenews.com/nat5208.html.

⁸ E. Moffit, Robert, “The House Health Care Bill: A Blueprint for Federal Control,.” The Heritage Foundation, July 1, 2009, as found at http://www.heritage.org/Research/Health care/wm2515.cfm.

⁹ Baptist Press, “Surgeon general nominee introduced,” SRNNews, Townhall.com, July 13, 2009, as found at http://srnnews.townhall.com/news/faith/2009/07/13/surgeon_general_nominee_introduced.

¹⁰ Ibid.