What Do Evangelical Democrats Think About Abortion Rights?

This "sister" thread to Ruggerson's query about gay rights now asks the evangelicals on this board to comment: Do you support the right of a woman to choose abortion? I would ask, as did Ruggerson, that you use non-circuitious language in your reply--get right to the point. "Yes, I most definitely do." or "No, I most definitely do not."

DUers: I included a quote that was from a non-reliable source about Jimmy Carter below, which I've removed thanks to Cottonbear's swift and correct admonision. I note this for the integrity of the thread.

Jim Wallis, the other highly touted progressive evangelical, is also opposed to abortion.

What say you, DU evangelicals?



Edited for removal of disreputable news source. :blush:

The article and the article title are misleading.

Read this excerpt from the article:

<snip>
Running for president in 1976 -- just three years after the Supreme Court's landmark Roe v. Wade decision -- Mr. Carter took a moderate stance.
"I think abortion is wrong and that the government ought never do anything to encourage abortion," he said during that campaign. "But I do not favor a constitutional amendment which would prohibit all abortions, nor one that would give states local option to ban abortions."
more...http://www.washtimes.com/national/20051103-111740-7148r.htm

Frankly I don't know anyone who is pro abortion. I support the right to choose a variety of means to handle a variety of deeply personal situations.

President Carter is one of my heroes. He's a fellow Georgian, a great humanitarian and a true Christian. His family is wonderful too, especially Rosalyn Carter. She is awesome!

completely about President Carter. We have not had a finer individual as President as that man.

political parties was one of the best I've ever heard, it was made I believe during the Wayne Hays- Elizabeth Ray scandal- "Democrats do it to their secretaries-Republicans do it to their country"

I have no idea if he is an Evangelical Christian or not, but his stance on abortion seems similar to how I understand his father's to be.

From Jack's website:



http://www.carterfornevada.com/issues/personal_freedoms

I guess it begs the question that one can be pro-choice but not necessarily pro-abortion.

but I know many who are pro-choice! I don't think I'd ever have had an abortion in my childbearing years. I'm a grandmother of 12 1/2 grandchildren. The 13th could be born at any time now. I would NEVER interfere in a womans RIGHT TO CHOOSE!! It's her body, her life, not mine. I would not judge her poorly either. The govt. needs to stay out of peoples personal lives and bedrooms, period!!!

See, the thing is, evangelical Christians who are likely to be Democrats are also likely to be highly individualistic and varied in their approach to law, politics, public life, and how their religion interacts with same.

What's with this expecting people, once labelled, to sit quietly in their pigeonholes and conform to our expectations?

curiously,
Bright

This conversation goes to helping us all understand what reaching out to evangelicals will mean, in real terms. Folks who want the party to champion the rights of single-sex couples, women and others are concerned that the "conversation" will lead to offering these rights in sacrifice. I, for one, would be eager to learn that evangelicals here at DU and elsewhere do not intend this.

My own caution in ths area springs directly from statements made by Jim Wallis. Wallis seems all too eager to deal away women's reproductive rights in favor of building a tent that includes anti-choice candidates. Such a tent, simply, would have no place for those of us who believe all human beings are due human rights. I'm eager to learn of others who have different ideas of how to approach this, and how those ideas play out.

...because they all share some particular characteristic (in this case, a specific approach to Christianity) they will also all share some other particular characteristic (in this case a specific view with regards to abortion rights.)

You MIGHT find such lockstepping amongst the GOPpies, who self-select for psychotic levels of conformity, but it's highly unlikely you'll find it in the blue end of the pew.

I have friends in evangelical communities of faith who hold a wide range of views on abortion rights, not to mention other political issues.

amiably,
Bright

that's the point of this discussion. I'm, frankly, not sure which of us you're describing here.

...activists in favor of abortion rights, even while they support counseling and adoption centers to provide alternatives and regard abortion itself as morally wrong. A little schizy, maybe, but they're quite sincere and logical about it (one of them is also a highly militant Church/state separatist activist who used to do a fiery blog on the subject until she was unnerved by the hate mail from fellow 'Christians' and decided that discretion was the better part of valor, as she's a single mom.)

Others are deeply conflicted on a personal level about abortion rights but supportive of Roe V. Wade and extremely wary of government intervention in matters pertaining to moral choice.

I also know some diehard anti-choice evangelicals who nevertheless don't want to see women die from illegal abortions and struggle with how to frame laws that will protect fetuses while not criminalizing desperate pregnant women.

And others whose views range from idealistic (and, in my opinion, highly unrealistic) to pragmatic and everywhere in between.

I don't think you can assume that because a particular Democrat happens to be an evangelical Christian, s/he will necessarily hold a particular view on abortion rights, or will even prioritize that issue among others or actively work to influence the Party's platform in a particular direction.

limpidly,
Bright

And with some neo con repukes that opinion is retroactive.