It is not fair to say that Senator Barrack Obama supports infanticide

Captain Infanticide, aka Deal Hudson, is at it again. In his latest round of published smears against Senator Obama, not only has he once again raised this issue, he has listed others who have also made the same charge against Senator Obama to buttress this silly notion. The motley crew he lists includes Rick Santorum, the failed Senator who lost re-election to an actual Pro Life candidate, Ultra Neo Conservative Terry Jeffries, extremist Jill Stanek, grumpy extremist Bill Donohue, Gary Bauer of the far Christian right, and Libertarian Nat Hentoff. Hardly a jury of peers to make such a charge, much less support it with any credibility.

As I reported earlier on this site, Webster’s defines "infanticide" as "the killing of an infant". To this date, there is no record of Barrack Obama killing any infants. The charge that Deal Hudson makes is about as silly as charging George W. Bush with “genocide”. However, could the case be made that Bush is guilty by association for “genocide” as he did nothing to stop the genocide in Darfur? From the extremist point of view, is it fair to say the George W. Bush supports genocide? Since infants are killed during genocide, infanticide takes place, so is it fair to say that George W. Bush supports infanticide? If he does, do his supporters such as Deal Hudson and Bill Donohue support genocide and infanticide? Well, you get the point.

This is the same crowd that supports Republican candidate John McCain and President George W. Bush, leaders of the Republican administration that has brought to America the missing “weapons of mass destruction”, the debacle of Hurricane Katrina, Alberto Gonzales, Walter Reed, Guantanamo Bay, the largest national debt ever, tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy, Dick Cheney, the Iraq war, the stolen election…the list goes on. They, along with the "the decider" and Candidate McCain, want Catholic Americans to once again buy this charge of infanticide to deflect the foremost issues that Catholic Americans and their families are really concerned about.

Catholics going to the polls this November will be compelled me to vote for a candidate that will bring a systematic reform of No Child Left Behind. Catholics will be called to vote for the candidate that will bring improved access to health care for the poor and working families. Catholics will seek a candidate who supports a lowering of the federal deficit. They seek a candidate who truly desires a realistic investment in alternative energy, who by the way speaks to the same call that they have as a Catholics to be a good stewards of the environment. Catholics watching their country from a world view, seek a candidate that will end the harsh interrogation of detainees and restore our respect and relations globally. Catholics seek a candidate who works to address the circumstances surrounding a woman’s decision to have an abortion and works to reduce and eliminate abortions in this country.

Several times, I have challenged Deal Hudson to debate that the abortion conversation at this point in time should be about offering policy solutions that promote life and the support of parents beyond the birth of their new child. The conversation must move beyond the question of the legality of abortion and move towards actually reducing the need for abortion by investing in programs that will for example offer educational opportunities to communities in need so that in time we can see a quantitative reduction in both unintended pregnancies and abortions.

Moreover, I believe instead of asking "gotcha" questions on where a candidate has voted in the past or arguing about the failed and divisive policies of the past thirty years, or in this case pinning an unrealistic and radical title on Senator Obama, we have a moral obligation to address the issues that all sides can agree on, whether pro-life or pro-choice. We have to come to the collective realization that if candidates and their supporters are serious about the desire to reduce and eliminate abortions in this country then we all must find a common ground to build upon that can eventually reverse the recent trends and reduce the ever increasing number of abortions in this country.