Herald Tribune
By Kate Phillips
WASHINGTON: Senator Joseph Biden Jr., the Democratic nominee for vice president, departed Sunday from party doctrine on abortion rights, declaring that as a Catholic, he believes life begins at conception.
While Biden's views may not be new to Democrats in his circle, his comments, in an interview on "Meet the Press" on NBC, came at a time when his party is confronted with a new face: Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, whose anti-abortion stance and decision to give birth just five months ago to a baby with Down syndrome have revved up the conservative base of her party.
In the interview Sunday, Biden tried to walk the line between the staunch abortion-rights advocates in his party and his own religious beliefs. While he said he did not often talk about his faith, he said of those who disagree with him: "They believe in their faith and they believe in human life, and they have differing views as to when life — I'm prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception."
Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, was also questioned about his views, on the ABC News program "This Week." Last month, in an interview with the Rev. Rick Warren at the Saddleback Church in California, Obama skirted a question about when life begins, saying that determining such a thing was "above my pay grade." On ABC on Sunday, Obama characterized his response then as a little "too flip," adding, "All I meant to communicate was that I don't presume to be able to answer these kinds of theological questions.
"What I do know is that abortion is a moral issue," Obama continued, "that it's one that families struggle with all the time, and that in wrestling with those issues, I don't think that the government criminalizing the choices that families make is the best answer for reducing abortions. I think the better answer — and this was reflected in the Democratic platform — is to figure out, how do we make sure that young mothers, or women who have a pregnancy that's unexpected or difficult, have the kind of support they need to make a whole range of choices, including adoption and keeping the child."
WASHINGTON: Senator Joseph Biden Jr., the Democratic nominee for vice president, departed Sunday from party doctrine on abortion rights, declaring that as a Catholic, he believes life begins at conception.
While Biden's views may not be new to Democrats in his circle, his comments, in an interview on "Meet the Press" on NBC, came at a time when his party is confronted with a new face: Governor Sarah Palin, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, whose anti-abortion stance and decision to give birth just five months ago to a baby with Down syndrome have revved up the conservative base of her party.
In the interview Sunday, Biden tried to walk the line between the staunch abortion-rights advocates in his party and his own religious beliefs. While he said he did not often talk about his faith, he said of those who disagree with him: "They believe in their faith and they believe in human life, and they have differing views as to when life — I'm prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception."
Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, was also questioned about his views, on the ABC News program "This Week." Last month, in an interview with the Rev. Rick Warren at the Saddleback Church in California, Obama skirted a question about when life begins, saying that determining such a thing was "above my pay grade." On ABC on Sunday, Obama characterized his response then as a little "too flip," adding, "All I meant to communicate was that I don't presume to be able to answer these kinds of theological questions.
"What I do know is that abortion is a moral issue," Obama continued, "that it's one that families struggle with all the time, and that in wrestling with those issues, I don't think that the government criminalizing the choices that families make is the best answer for reducing abortions. I think the better answer — and this was reflected in the Democratic platform — is to figure out, how do we make sure that young mothers, or women who have a pregnancy that's unexpected or difficult, have the kind of support they need to make a whole range of choices, including adoption and keeping the child."
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