Nomination Of Sebelius For HHS Secretary Consistent With Obama's 'Pro-Choice Agenda,' Washington Post Columnist Says

"It is probably not a coincidence" that President Obama has nominated a Roman Catholic -- Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) -- to serve as HHS secretary and "implement" many policies in his "pro-choice agenda," Michael Gerson writes in a Washington Post opinion piece. According to Gerson, the "coercion of those who disagree" with this agenda is "a common thread" for Obama. Although the president "has every right to a pro-choice Cabinet," the nomination of Sebelius "seems designed to provide religious cover" and "also smacks of religious humiliation -- like asking a rabbi to serve the pork roast or an atheist to bless the meal," Gerson says. He continues, "Sebelius, though strongly pro-choice, was capable of occasional compromise. But she consistently fought against the serious enforcement of Kansas' late-term abortion restrictions." Sebelius is in the group of "Catholics who assert the sanctity of life while defending legal abortion," he writes.

According to Gerson, Catholics who support abortion rights have various explanations for their stance. He says, "Some say they will not impose their private religious views on others. But moral beliefs about human dignity are not religious dogmas such as transubstantiation or the Trinity." He asks, "Couldn't a Catholic politician support women in crisis and effective protection for viable children?" Catholic abortion-rights supporters say that "legal remedies on abortion have been exhausted, so we might as well focus on the common-ground issue of abortion reduction -- a cause that does deserve support," Gerson says. However, he also contends that "legal remedies have not been exhausted; they have been preempted by the courts." He continues, "The exercise of democracy on abortion would probably lead to broader protections for viable children. And it is difficult to imagine how anyone committed to the principle that 'all life is sacred' could oppose such a democratic outcome." Gerson adds that "if a politician believes life is sacred, the destruction of more than a million lives a year cannot be merely one issue among many." He concludes that Sebelius and other Catholic politicians who support abortion rights "are disagreeing with their church on a fundamental issue of justice -- which is their right;" however, "It is also the right of their church to point out their incoherence" (Gerson, Washington Post, 3/11).


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