In Support of Kathleen Sebelius

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Abortion is a terrible thing. We should do everything we can to reduce the number of abortions in the United States. As a Christian, I am pro-life. I believe that all human beings–even unborn infants–are created by God and have inherent worth and dignity. With many in the Democratic Party, I believe that government should do everything possible to aid the powerless and helpless. This should include the unborn as much as the poor and the oppressed.

Unfortunately, the label “pro-life” has been co-opted by the Republican Party–a political party that has fought, at times admirably, against abortion; but has also supported war, capital punishment, and torture.

Because I am pro-life, I am glad that Barack Obama has appointed Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) of Kansas to be his Secretary of Health and Human Services. From what I have been able to glean, Sebelius is a devout Catholic who has signed significant legislation in Kansas to reduce the number of abortions. If these evangelicals are correct, abortions in Kansas have dropped by ten percent under her watch.

Some might criticize Sebelius because she does not want to overturn Roe v. Wade. But if these critics were truly pro-life, they should be rejoicing at Obama’s decision to appoint her. Conservatives must realize that they lost the 2008 election. The country chose the other guy. This is the guy who believes in protecting a women’s right to choose and said he would push a pro-choice agenda. It is time that the pro-life movement get a healthy dose of realism. Roe versus Wade will not be overturned anytime soon. It is just not going to happen.

So why such criticism when Obama picks a candidate for Secretary of Health and Human Services with a solid track record of reducing abortions? Shouldn’t this be a good thing for pro-lifers? Shouldn’t pro-lifers be glad that Obama is, as E.J. Dionne said today, stepping “gingerly” into the culture wars?

ADDENDUM: Since I posted this, I have learned more about Sebelius record on life issues from people “on the ground” in Kansas. I have been convinced that my description here of Sebelius’s record on abortion is a bit too rosy and I am guilty of jumping to conclusions here based on the ideas of some of the evangelical leaders references in this post. While there may be a lot of good reasons to support her nomination, I am not sure her commitment to reducing abortions is one of them. I learned a good lesson through all of this about localism. There a lot of people in Kansas–Republicans and Democrats and Independents–who have offered me a much more nuanced,informed, and I think accurate, picture of Sebelius’s views on this issue.

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  3. Matthew L Bucher says

    One of my friends here in Egypt used to work in Sebelius’ office in Kansas and had her pegged (correctly) as a possible appointee for a new, Democratic administration 12 months ago.

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