A mix of hope and dismay as religious leaders assess Biden sfltimes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sfltimes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Rachel M. MacNair “I have fetus dreams, we all do here: dreams of abortions one after the other; of buckets of blood splashed on the walls; trees full of crawling fetuses,” reported Sallie Tisdale of her time as a nurse in an abortion facility. Writing in
Harper’s magazine, she told of dreaming that two men grabbed her and dragged her away. “Let’s do an abortion,” they said with a sickening leer, and I began to scream, plunged into a vision of sucking, scraping pain, of being spread and torn by impartial instruments that do only what they are bidden. I woke from this dream barely able to breathe and thought of kitchen tables and coat hangers, knitting needles striped with blood, and women all alone clutching a pillow in their teeth to keep the screams from piercing the apartment-house walls.
Donald Trump s departure from the White House and the start of Joe Biden’s presidency have stirred new hopes among many religious leaders in the United States, while causing dismay among others.
Here’s a look at some of the issues that major faiths will be grappling with as the new administration takes shape.
ABORTION
For leaders of the two largest Christian denominations in the U.S. the Roman Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention the paramount concern about the Biden administration is its strong support for abortion rights.
Biden, a practicing Catholic, already has rolled back some Trump policies aimed at curbing abortion access. On Jan. 22, the 48th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision establishing a nationwide right to abortion, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris said they would seek to enshrine that right into federal law to protect it from court challenges.
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In 2009, four months after Barack Obama, who supported abortion rights, was sworn in as president and Democrats controlled both houses of Congress, a religious zealot murdered the late-term abortion doctor George Tiller in the vestibule of Tiller’s church.
I have always believed those two things were related.
Generally, when the Republican Party has been in charge, antiabortion activists breathe a little easier, knowing women’s reproductive rights will be foiled at almost every turn.
Conservative Christians were able to overlook Donald Trump’s lack of ethics, morality and honesty because he shamelessly pandered to them on abortion. Although he was for abortion rights before he was against them, he called himself the most pro-life president in history. He was the first sitting president to appear at the annual March for Life in Washington.
Column: Why we might soon see a surge in antiabortion violence [Los Angeles Times]
In 2009, four months after Barack Obama, who supported abortion rights, was sworn in as president and Democrats controlled both houses of Congress, a religious zealot murdered the late-term abortion doctor George Tiller in the vestibule of Tiller’s church.
I have always believed those two things were related.
Generally, when the Republican Party has been in charge, antiabortion activists breathe a little easier, knowing women’s reproductive rights will be foiled at almost every turn.
Conservative Christians were able to overlook Donald Trump’s lack of ethics, morality and honesty because he shamelessly pandered to them on abortion. Although he was for abortion rights before he was against them, he called himself the most pro-life president in history. He was the first sitting president to appear at the annual March for Life in Washington.