March 27, 2009
Michael Steele, a pro-life leader?
BY JAMES F. COLLINS (Director, Catholic Charities)
I have always looked forward to the Vanderburgh County Right to Life (VCRTL) Annual Banquet. It has been a time when people who feel strongly about the need to extend human rights to children in the womb could celebrate this conviction and hear a speaker whose life and work embodied this conviction.
Unfortunately, that is not the case this year. When I heard that VCRTL had picked Michael Steele, the new Republican Na-tional Committee (RNC) Chair, I was surprised. I have been active in pro-life work for a long time and could not recall Mr. Steele doing anything of note. I googled Mr. Steele’s name and could not come up with any pro-life actions, only campaign boilerplate. I was curious as to why he was chosen to stand before a room full of people dedicated to the cause of protecting human life in the womb.
On Thursday, March 12, I read a news account of Mr. Steele’s interview with GQ magazine in which the following exchange occurred.
GQ: How much of your pro-life stance, for you, is informed not just by your Catholic faith but by the fact that you were adopted?
MS: Oh, a lot. Absolutely. I see the power of life in that, I mean, and the power of choice! The thing to keep in mind about it. . . Uh, you know, I think as a country we get off on these misguided conversations that throw around terms that really misrepresent truth.
GQ: Explain that.
MS: The choice issue cuts two ways. You can choose life, or you can choose abortion. You know, my mother chose life. So, you know, I think the power of the argument of choice boils down to stating a case for one or the other.
GQ: Are you saying you think women have the right to choose abortion?
MS: Yeah, I mean, again, I think that’s an individual choice.
GQ: You do?
MS: Yeah! Absolutely!
GQ: Are you saying you don’t want to overturn Roe vs Wade?
MS: I think Roe vs. Wade — as a legal matter, Roe vs. Wade was a wrongly decided matter.
GQ: Okay, but if you overturn Roe vs. Wade, how do women have the choice you just said they should have?
MS: The states should make that choice. That’s what the choice is. The individual choice rests in the states. Let them decide.
I was shocked. During the next week on pro-life blogs many pro-life leaders expressed their outrage and disappointment. Some pro-life leaders joined in a call for Steele’s resignation. Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council, who has strong pro-life credentials, stated:
“This (the GQ interview) only serves to reinforce the belief by many social conservatives that one major party is unfriendly to their values while the other gives lip service to core moral issues.
“If such a visible Republican leader continues in this same vein, I’m sure many more will drop their affiliation with the GOP,” he concluded. “The prospects of more social conservatives leaving may excite the big ‘tenters,’ but that will only last until they discover the Big Tent is empty.”
In response to deep concerns expressed by pro-life leaders, Mr. Steele released a follow-up statement: “I am pro-life, always have been and, always will be.”
Mike Huckabee, a pro-life social conservative, stated in response to Mr. Steele’s res-ponse that the remarks are “very troubling” and, despite his clarification, “the party stands to lose many of its members and a great deal of support in the trenches of grassroots politics.” “For Chairman Steele to even infer that taking a life is totally left up to the individual is not only a reversal of Republican policy and principle, but it is a violation of the most basic of human rights-the right to life.”
There is much controversy surrounding Mr. Steele’s pro-life credentials. However, I am sure he will come to the banquet and say all of the things we like to hear, but I will be relaxing at home that night and I pray that next year VCRTL will find a speaker who is unambiguously pro-life.