AEI’s Jay Richards on the rightful role of the Catholic bishops in the Obamacare/abortion debate:
Religious groups, including the U.S. Conference on Catholic Bishops, make statements on public policy all the time. In fact, I think many of them dilute their influence by opining on subjects far afield from both their competence and the clear deliverances of their theological traditions. But taxpayer funding of abortion is one of those issues on which Catholic bishops will naturally have an informed opinion. Moreover, there are a number of legislators, such as Rep. Bart Stupak, who agree with the bishops. I think many of these members are acting out of principle, and not cynical political calculations. That will make it very hard for President Obama or House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to strong-arm them into compliance.
Oswald Clark is the economics reporter for The Interim and an Ottawa and Boston based economist.
