A group of more than 100 Christian pastors, religion teachers and other advocates urges the Democratic National Committee to adopt a party platform that is friendlier to opponents of abortion.
A group of more than 100 Christian pastors, religion teachers and other advocates urges the Democratic National Committee to adopt a party platform that is friendlier to opponents of abortion.
In a letter organized by the anti-abortion group Democrats for Life and to be sent on Friday, the group of Christians calls on the Democratic Party to withdraw support from its platform to end restrictions on federal funds for abortion. That language was added to the party’s 2016 platform, to the frustration of pro-life Democrats. Last year, Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, changed his position to support an end to restrictions on government funding for abortion.
“We ask that you recognize the inviolable human dignity of the child, before and after birth,” the group wrote in its letter to the Democratic platform committee, shared in advance with The Associated Press. “We urge you to reject a litmus test on pro-life people of people seeking a position in the Democratic Party.”
Signatories to the letter include the Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Evangelical Latin Coalition and a member of the faith-based advisory council of former President Barack Obama; and John DeBerry, a former Tennessee state representative and pastor who was recently removed from the Democratic primary vote due in part to votes against the party’s position.
Democrats for Life executive director Kristen Day said her group had sent a letter opposing the inclusion of language from the Democratic platform in 2016 supporting the repeal of limits on federal abortion funds that attracted far fewer signatories. This week’s letter, which includes both registered and independent Democrats, is “a much bigger effort,” he said.
Day also cautioned that incorporating another position that Biden has endorsed, coding for the Roe v. Ruling. Wade of the Supreme Court would alienate religious pro-life voters.
Biden is “a little ahead” of where Hillary Clinton was in 2016 in terms of faith-based electoral reach, Day said, but the possibility that the Democratic platform will endorse Roe’s codification “would greatly harm relations with religious voters. I don’t necessarily want to see that. “
While Democrats have shifted to the left toward abortion in recent years, there is some evidence that opponents of abortion are still open to supporting the party. Minnesota Democrat Senator Amy Klobuchar, despite her strong voting record on abortion rights, won unlikely praise from some abortion critics in February for saying that anti-abortion Democrats “are part of our party.”
Day recalled Obama’s work toward “common ground” on abortion, as the former president put it in 2008, noting that the Biden campaign has hired a religious adviser who worked on Obama’s reelection bid.
“It is enormously important for the campaign and Vice President Biden to understand the importance of this vote,” Day said of pro-life Democrats who may be motivated by their faith. “It should not be taken for granted.”
A draft Democratic platform released this week will be voted by mail ahead of the mostly virtual party convention, which will begin on August 17.
———
The Associated Press religious coverage is supported by Lilly Endowment through the Religion News Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
.
