While Barack Obama dodged questions concerning human life and abortion, Nancy Pelosi simply asserted that the life of an unborn child doesn't matter.
Update: scroll down for the video
Asked to help Barack Obama understand when life begins, Nancy Pelosi asserted that the answer has no impact on whether or not the abortion of an unborn baby is morally justified. Here's the interview from NBC's Meet the press:
MR. BROKAW: Senator Obama saying the question of when life begins is above his pay grade, whether you're looking at it scientifically or theologically. If he were to come to you and say, "Help me out here, Madame Speaker. When does life begin?" what would you tell him?REP. PELOSI: I would say that as an ardent, practicing Catholic, this is an issue that I have studied for a long time. And what I know is, over the centuries, the doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition. And Senator--St. Augustine said at three months. We don't know. The point is, is that it shouldn't have an impact on the woman's right to choose. Roe v. Wade talks about very clear definitions of when the child--first trimester, certain considerations; second trimester; not so third trimester. There's very clear distinctions. This isn't about abortion on demand, it's about a careful, careful consideration of all factors and--to--that a woman has to make with her doctor and her god. And so I don't think anybody can tell you when life begins, human life begins. As I say, the Catholic Church for centuries has been discussing this, and there are those who've decided...
MR. BROKAW: The Catholic Church at the moment feels very strongly that it...Note that it is obvious to everyone except for Democratic politicians that life begins at conception. Pelosi most likely represented Barack Obama's true position, which is that even a child who is born alive does not have an inherent right to life. And, Pelosi's proposition is downright scary - that life has no intrinsic value or dignity apart from instrument characteristics, such as the desire/decision of another. Any number of atrocities have been justified on this basis including the American abortion holocaust.REP. PELOSI: I understand that.
MR. BROKAW: ...begins at the point of conception.
REP. PELOSI: I understand. And this is like maybe 50 years or something like that. So again, over the history of the church, this is an issue of controversy. But it is, it is also true that God has given us, each of us, a free will and a responsibility to answer for our actions. And we want abortions to be safe, rare, and reduce the number of abortions. That's why we have this fight in Congress over contraception. My Republican colleagues do not support contraception. If you want to reduce the number of abortions, and we all do, we must--it would behoove you to support family planning and, and contraception, you would think. But that is not the case. So we have to take--you know, we have to handle this as respectfully--this is sacred ground. We have to handle it very respectfully and not politicize it, as it has been--and I'm not saying Rick Warren did, because I don't think he did, but others will try to.
HT: Onemom
Updates:
Ed Morrissey: Pelosi lies about Catholicism and abortion
Kathryn Jean Lopez: It shouldn't have an impact? Tell that to parents looking at sonograms. Look, it's obviously alive. Nevermind. "Shouldn't have an impact."
One wonders: What cult of Catholocism does Pelosi practice? The one that demands the blood of the unborn and some unfortunate just-borns on which it gains sustenance?---------Her callousness sends chills up the spine.----------How can there be any question that the Demockacrat Party is the party of infanticide?----------Or really, of genocide of the black community, given that for of every two black babies born in the U.S., another one is aborted. That is devastating to the black community, which comprises about 13 percent of the U.S. population.----------Amazing, isn't it, how Pelosi appears to be a CCINO -- Catholic Christian in name only -- while Barack/Barry SoetorObamaDunham is a PCINO -- a Protestant Christian in name only.----------What happened to either of them that causes them to hate the unborn and just-borns so?----------They, particularly BBSOD, are beyond psychological pathology.----------They've have moved into genuine evil.
Pelosi should be asked why she wants abortion to be rare, if she is pro-choice.
Pelosi says: "over the centuries, the doctors of the church have not been able to make that definition." (when does life begin?)
What century is she living in? If she has studied this issue for a long time, as she claims, then how is it she has missed the many testimonies from medical scentists that have settled the question? Consider this:
"To accept the fact that after fertilization has taken place a new human has come into being is no longer a matter of taste or opinion ... it is plain experimental evidence." The "Father of Modern Genetics" Dr. Jerome Lejeune, Univ. of Descarte, Paris
Pelosi is either ignorant on this issue, or simply lying.
Pelosi says: "And so I don't think anybody can tell you when life begins, human life begins."
Apparently she hasn't read any college medical textbooks. There is ample evidence that clearly states that life begins at the moment of conception.
As for the "doctors of the church"
Dr. Adriano Bompiani, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Rome's Sacred Heart University and former president of the Italian National Bioethics Committee, said that from a rational point of view, it is clear that human life begins when the sperm penetrates the egg and "the progressive differentiation and acquisition of complexity" begins.
Dutch Bishop Willem Eijk of Groningen, a physician and bioethicist, said the progressive movement from fertilization to implantation, the beginning of cerebral activity, the ability to feel pain and finally the ability to survive outside the uterus point to the fact that the embryo is a developing human from the very beginning.
AND, if we don't know when life begins, then we ought to err on the side of the unborn - from conception onward. Why is it that people like Pelosi are so willing to support abortion, even knowing that it's (in their view) quite possible that a living human being is being killed in the process?
Is Pelosi lying or just an ignoramus?
Pelosi is either lying or has never picked up a Bible, the Catecism of the Catholic church, listened to any Bishop, or the Pope. She is no ardent Catholic and has no clue what the church teaches. She is she may be the speaker of the house but she does not speak for the Catholic Church. I could not even categorize her as a cafeteria catholic.
It is extremely sad indeed (highly unethical and immoral)when supposedly intelligent and educated persons continue to disregard the sanctity and importance of life in all it's forms. It is a documented biological fact that life begins with conception. Once conceived, the lifeform will continue to grow and mature until such time it is able to sustain itself in whatever environment is considered it's normal habitat. Humans fit this mold and definition perfectly. Regardless of a person's religious convictions or cultural heritage, preservation of life has been so important that for thousands of years mankind has enacted laws protecting it in one way or another. These laws typically define a person making any conscious (and sometimes unconscious) action that results in the termination of a life as committing murder. It is a very straightforward and obvious conclusion that murder is not an acceptable form of behavior in any civilized society. To perpetrate this crime on the most defenseless makes it even more heinous and unthinkable. When some people casually regard abortion as a choice and not see what it truly represents, they embrace a depravity and insensitivity that deminishes us all. It's a long way past time to correct this attitude and put a total stop to this abhorrent behavior.
So, Catholics can't have abortion, but they can't go through In Vitro fertilization either? That's kind of double-edged.