Elena 
I have the full text of the speech posting tonight on my Daily Diigolet. But I do want to comment on a few parts. First of all Obama is either really gutsy, or really arrogant. Whichever, he DID NOT shy away from abortion.
Obama Notre Dame Speech: FULL TEXT:
“Nowhere do these questions come up more powerfully than on the issue of abortion.
As I considered the controversy surrounding my visit here, I was reminded of an encounter I had during my Senate campaign, one that I describe in a book I wrote called The Audacity of Hope. A few days after I won the Democratic nomination, I received an email from a doctor who told me that while he voted for me in the primary, he had a serious concern that might prevent him from voting for me in the general election. He described himself as a Christian who was strongly pro-life, but that’s not what was preventing him from voting for me.
What bothered the doctor was an entry that my campaign staff had posted on my website – an entry that said I would fight ‘right-wing ideologues who want to take away a woman’s right to choose.’ The doctor said that he had assumed I was a reasonable person, but that if I truly believed that every pro-life individual was simply an ideologue who wanted to inflict suffering on women, then I was not very reasonable. He wrote, ‘I do not ask at this point that you oppose abortion, only that you speak about this issue in fair-minded words.’
That’s when we begin to say, “Maybe we won’t agree on abortion, but we can still agree that this is a heart-wrenching decision for any woman to make, with both moral and spiritual dimensions.
I’m all for the use of fair minded words and President Obama is for the most part, careful about the language he uses. However on only has to spend a few minutes listening to MSNBC, or reading lefty blogs to know that his pro-choice supports are unable and unwilling to do so. The nasty unfair rhetoric by and large comes from their side.
Secondly, yea we can all agree that it is a heart-wrenching decision with moral and spiritual dimensions. But I know there are women who make it as easily as going to the doctor to get a wart burned off. I know because I have talked to them.
I also say, even if we agree that a great percentage of women find this decision heart-wrenching – so what? What does that agreement mean? Does that lead us any closer to being pro-life or pro-choice. No. It simply means we recognize that it’s a difficult decision for some women. But we each have different ideas of what to do about it, so in the end agreeing on that doesn’t seem to help much.
So let’s work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions by reducing unintended pregnancies, and making adoption more available, and providing care and support for women who do carry their child to term.
I doubt that we could reach agreement on how to reduce unintended pregnancies. The moral Catholic teaching is don’t have sex with someone until you’re married to them and then practice Natural Family Planning and if pregnancy happens, it’s a gift, you’ll get the graces, and this is truly a gift. I’m pretty sure Obama’s solution is the direct opposite and includes handing out condoms, and providing contraception at tax-payer expense for everyone who wants to get laid. I’m not sure how we’re going to work side by side on that one.
Adoption and support for children and mothers of course is always good, but notice he doesn’t mention those options first.
Let’s honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion, and draft a sensible conscience clause, and make sure that all of our health care policies are grounded in clear ethics and sound science, as well as respect for the equality of women.”
I’m not clear on what that sentence means but when ever I see something theological with the word “conscience” in it, I suspect it is’t good. Conscience is the liberal Catholic code word for Jiminy Cricket theology, “Let your conscience be your guide!” Forming that conscience isn’t necessarily a part of it. I’m not sure he could be speaking about policies grounded in ethics or science anyway, since he’s already said those areas are above his pay grade.
Understand – I do not suggest that the debate surrounding abortion can or should go away. No matter how much we may want to fudge it
At least he is fessing up that he would like to fudge it! Most of the pro-lifers that got arrested this week were clearly not willing to do so.
– indeed, while we know that the views of most Americans on the subject are complex and even contradictory – the fact is that at some level, the views of the two camps are irreconcilable. Each side will continue to make its case to the public with passion and conviction. But surely we can do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature.
Open hearts. Open minds. Fair-minded words.
Probably the truest words he has ever said on the topic. And I can tell from reading in the liberal lefty blogosophere that the pro-choicers will have none of it! In fact they’re made at Obama for backpeddling. I truly don’t think that their side is capable of debating this with open hearts or minds, let alone being fair minded. And you can forget about fair rhetoric.
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