Biden Press Secretary Already Dodging Questions on How Biden Will Expand Abortion
President Joe Biden has not exactly been very secretive when it comes to his views on abortion. The supposedly devout Catholic has recently become much more left-leaning on the issue.
On his campaign website, Biden promised he would work to repeal the Hyde Amendment, codify Roe v. Wade, rescind the so-called Mexico City Policy and restore federal funding for Planned Parenthood.
Yet when White House press secretary Jen Psaki was pressed about his plans during her first news conference Wednesday, she dodged the question.
For those who are not familiar with the Hyde Amendment and/or the Mexico City Policy, Chloe Atkins of NBC News explained them in an article Monday.
“The Reagan administration implemented the Mexico City Policy, which barred foreign organizations that receive U.S. family planning assistance from providing information, referrals or services for abortions,” Atkins said.
She added that former President Donald Trump “expanded it by applying the restrictions to nearly all federal global health assistance.”
Atkins said the Hyde Amendment “has prohibited federal programs from paying for abortions, except in the case of rape or incest or to save the life of the woman.”
The basic premise of these two policies is pretty straightforward: Many Americans believe abortion is evil and wrong, and therefore they do not want their taxpayer dollars to fund it.
Psaki was asked Wednesday what Biden was planning on doing about those two items.
Her response: “Well, I think we’ll have more to say on the Mexico City Policy in the coming days, but I will just take the opportunity to remind all of you that he is a devout Catholic and somebody who attends church regularly. He started his day attending church with his family this morning.
“But I don’t have anything more for you on that.”
The brushoff brought a response from Cassie Smedile, executive director of the conservative watchdog group America Rising.
“Jen Psaki spins out of Hyde Amdt. & Mexico City question by saying Pres. Biden is a ‘devout Catholic,'” Smedile said on Twitter.
“Either Pres. Biden is about to be a very pro-Life President or Jen Psaki (and basically everyone else) needs to stop referring to him as a ‘devout Catholic’…!”
Jen Psaki spins out of Hyde Amdt. & Mexico City question by saying Pres. Biden is a “devout Catholic”.
Either Pres. Biden is about to be a very pro-Life President or Jen Psaki (and basically everyone else) needs to stop referring to him as a “devout Catholic”…! pic.twitter.com/Tvy9qVvUnW
— Cassie Smedile (@CMSmedile) January 21, 2021
Like Psaki, Atkins described Biden as a “devout Roman Catholic,” but she noted that “his position on abortion has evolved throughout his career.”
“Most recently, in 2019, he dropped his long-standing support of the Hyde Amendment, a decades-old policy restricting federal funding for abortions, after having faced mounting criticism,” she wrote.
That phrase, “after having faced mounting criticism,” is key there. While we can’t be certain, it seems much more likely that instead of having a sudden change of heart, Biden simply changed his position to try and appeal to the abortion extremists in his party.
Another question that arises is, why does everyone around Joe Biden feel the need to mention his faith whenever abortion is brought up?
The most obvious answer is that Catholics, along with Christians and people of many other faiths, are typically against killing the innocent, including unborn babies.
Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez, the president of the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference, recently expressed his concern about Biden’s stance on abortion and other issues.
“I must point out that our new president has pledged to pursue certain policies that would advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage and gender,” Gomez said, according to Reuters.
Reuters noted that Biden “has said he is personally against abortion but cannot impose his position on others.”
There are a lot of aspects about religion for which the above statement would make sense. If you replaced “abortion” with “worshipping Buddha,” for example, then I would agree.
The separation of church and state is a good thing for America. But when it comes to the issue of murder, it goes deeper than just religion.
Biden seems to think that if he or people around him just keep mentioning his faith, it will somehow absolve him from the responsibility of his actions.
Unfortunately for him, simply calling yourself a Catholic does not mean you can disregard morality without facing the consequences.
The idea that any human can take the life of another is morally evil, and it is not a “right” that should be guaranteed to anyone. Masking it by calling it abortion does not change that fact.
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