Sunset for the Culture of Life

Kengor_Catholic_2012 Election Pt 3_110912

The battle to end legal abortion in America is over. The election and reelection of Barack Obama has made Roe v. Wade a permanent part of American life, with tens to hundreds of millions of unborn babies the coming casualties. Barack Obama got two Supreme Court picks in his first term and will get more in his second.

But it’s worse than that. All of us will now be handmaidens in this destruction. In the not-so-distant past, abortion advocates didn’t demand that all of us forcibly pay for their abortions—and for Planned Parenthood, contraception, and embryo destruction. They weren’t demanding that taxpayer-funded contraception become a new “entitlement.” That, too, has changed under Barack Obama, and we will not be able to conscientiously object as faithful Catholics.

This is a devastating defeat. The heights of abortion absurdity will be thrust to once unimaginable depths.

On November 6, 2012, we witnessed the sunset for the Culture of Life in America.

And who’s to blame? The answer is Roman Catholics, or, I should say, self-identified Catholics. They make up a quarter of the electorate, and they went for Barack Obama big-time in 2008 and by 50-48 percent in 2012, mirroring and molding the popular vote.

To be sure, the numbers for 2012 are deceiving. The self-identified Catholics who voted for Obama include millions who rarely go to Mass. To the contrary, Catholics who attend Mass weekly voted for the pro-life Mitt Romney by a strong margin, 57-42 percent. White Catholics supported Romney by 59-40 percent. Sadly, they weren’t enough.

There were two groups of Catholics who elected Obama: apathetic Catholics and Hispanic Catholics. Hispanics went for Obama by an amazing 71-27 percent margin, and they were 10 percent of the electorate.

But that doesn’t let Catholics en masse off the hook. There were literally millions of Catholics who attend Mass weekly and voted for Barack Obama. In so doing, they also voted—whether they realize it or not—for the sunset of the Culture of Life in America.

For Catholic Exchange dot com and Ave Maria Radio, I’m Paul Kengor.

Avatar photo

By

Dr. Paul Kengor is professor of political science at Grove City College and executive director of The Center for Vision & Values. His books include “The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism” and “Dupes: How America’s Adversaries Have Manipulated Progressives for a Century.”

Subscribe to CE
(It's free)

Go to Catholic Exchange homepage

MENU