Abortion and the Catholic Church

Yesterday President Obama gave a speech at Notre Dame in which he talked about the search for common ground on the abortion issue. Now today, Chris Matthews has two members of Congress on his show, one a Democrat who supports abortion rights, and the other a
Republican who opposes abortion rights. These two have been working together on legislation designed to reduce the need for abortion, just the kind of thing Obama was talking about.

The Republican stressed the fact that most women seeking abortions are poor women, living, as he put it, "within 200% of the poverty level". He stressed the need for access to contraceptives, which brings the Catholic Church's position against contraception squarely into focus. What I wonder is, when are people going to start talking truthfully and frankly about how much harm has been done by the Catholic Church's position that it is a sin to use contraception. No politician is willing to buck the powerful Catholic church, so it has to be done by commentators like myself. Until legislators are willing to face the issue and simply say that the Catholic Church s wrong on this issue, until that day comes, progress will remain elusive.