In response to Mourdock's statement, Obama sharply criticizes the Republican candidate, saying that "it doesn't make sense to [him]" because "rape is rape. It is a crime." (CBS News). Obama uses Mourdock's words to support his belief that women are capable of making their own decisions. On the other hand, the Romney campaign still stands by Mourdock, although Romney claims he does not agree with Mourdock and his abortion policies (his running mate, Paul Ryan, does agree though).
A recent Gallup poll indicates that there has been a large increase since 2008 in percent of men who prefer Romney while a higher percent of women favor Obama, although that number of women has dropped slightly since the 2008 election. However, with this recent Mourdock controversy and both candidates' responses to it, women's support of Obama is likely to increase.
4 comments:
What we have here is Mourdock thinking that asserting his belief in God is more important than supporting the rights of women, and it reflects an ongoing and disturbing trend in the abortion debate of religion being referenced as a valid reason to outlaw or restrict abortion. While Mourdock is entitled to his religion and his belief in it, I thoroughly disapprove of him citing that belief in the context of a political debate as an excuse to control women's bodies. There is a separation between church and state for a reason.
Rachel's point is very sound. Church and state are separate for a reason. It is perfectly reasonable for an individual to decide that abortion is morally wrong or not God's plan for them, but that is VERY personal. The individual is perfectly entitled to choose not to get an abortion based on those beliefs, and that should be fully respected, but it is NOT their right to make the same choice for others. What is right for one person may not be right for someone else. And to harken back to the days of prohibition, making something illegal will not stop it from happening. Outlawing abortion or making women jump through hoops to get one only makes dangerous, potentially deadly procedures more common.
Eavan is right, abortion and rape are very personal issues, and don't have a place in debatable politics. Though Obama's statement was well-put and important, and the Republican party continues to make a fool of itself between forcible rape, legitimate rape, binders, and this, some polls are showing that Obama is losing his lead of support among women (http://news.yahoo.com/ap-poll-romney-erases-obama-advantage-among-women-071129692--election.html).
I agree with Sam, personal issues should not be a subject of debate in politics. Nevertheless, I believe the Republican Party, or at least Mourdock, will lose some popularity based on their stance. This is, in my opinion, an example of taking religion to an extreme. I don't see how someone could tell a women not to get an abortion after they were raped.Public opinion polls on Gallup show that most people would take the same stance as myself and Obama.
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