Former vice president Joe Biden has vowed to roll back a number of President Donald Trump’s executive orders and dismantle the administration’s pro-life policies should he take office next year.
While the official results of the 2020 presidential election remain uncertain, Biden has been declared the winner by several media outlets. His team has already unveiled a “Biden administration agenda,” which includes a section on “early executive actions.” The former vice president’s agenda would reverse some of the Trump administration’s pro-life initiatives.
According to the document, Biden would “reverse Trump actions on abortion and reproductive health care, including reversing the Mexico City Policy, restoring funding to Planned Parenthood and contraceptive coverage under the ACA.” The Mexico City Policy, first signed into law by President Ronald Reagan, requires foreign nongovernmental organizations to promise not to “perform or actively promote abortion as a method of family planning” using U.S. taxpayer dollars.
Biden’s pledge to reverse the Mexico City Policy is consistent with the actions of the two previous Democratic presidents. Former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, rescinded the Mexico City Policy upon taking in office in 1993. His successor, Republican Presdient George W. Bush, reinstated the policy after assuming the presidency in 2001.
Former Democrat President Barack Obama rescinded the Mexico City Policy when his first term began in 2009. Trump reinstated the policy shortly after taking office nearly four years ago.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration proposed expanding the Mexico City Policy to apply to all contracts and subcontracts that provide global health funding. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “40% of global health funding obligated to prime recipients in recent years was provided through contracts.”
In 2019, the Trump administration implemented a “Protect Life” rule barring health facilities that receive Title X family planning funds from performing, promoting or referring to abortion as a method of family planning. Rather than comply with the rule, Planned Parenthood, the largest abortion business in the country, withdrew from the Title X program.
Biden’s vow to restore funding to Planned Parenthood indicates that the Protect Life rule would go by the wayside in a Biden administration. Restoring the contraceptive mandate under the Affordable Care Act could result in religious employers having to pay for birth control coverage in their employees’ health insurance plans in violation of their religious beliefs.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the pro-life Susan B. Anthony List, previously warned that Biden and the Democrats’ vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris would “immediately begin rolling back President Trump’s pro-life gains.” According to Dannenfelser, “Biden and Harris constitute the most pro-abortion presidential ticket in American history.”
Brian Burch, president of the faith-based advocacy organization CatholicVote, noted that Biden supports “forcing Catholic religious orders like the Little Sisters of the Poor to provide abortion drugs in their healthcare plans.” He cited the Democrat candidate’s posture regarding religious employers as evidence that “a Biden-Harris ticket threatens the values Catholics in this country hold most dear.”
In response to the media declaring Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election, the pro-life group National Right to Life issued a statement asserting that the former vice president “has pledged to promote abortion on-demand and reverse pro-life laws and policies.”
The former vice president also expressed a desire to codify Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide, into law and repeal the Hyde Amendment, which prevents the use of taxpayer dollars to fund abortions. Both of those proposals would require congressional action….
Thea above comes from a November 10 story by the Christian Post.
If it happens, God must be okay with it. He had an opportunity to prevent it and there were lots of prayers and consecrations to prevent it from happening, but it looks like it will happen nevertheless. That’s why I’m on strike until God pulls his weight. The world makes no sense. Evil is partying and gaining the upper hand in the church and in the free world. Pony up, God. Do your part. Your faithful have been working, sacrificing, praying, suffering, struggling, making small advances, and now this is the thanks they get for their efforts? Show you’re a loving Father. Many of your faithful are dumbfounded that evil is progressing so rapidly and ubiquitously. I’m tired of hearing pious Catholics say that we should be proud God chose us to live at this time. Really, what good have our efforts done? Evil is winning on every front. God chose us for this? To be disappointed time and time again? To be Sisyphus?
@ Kevin T – I somehow, reluctantly, understand your plight and stand by your side on this. I think we Catholics are in a maelstrom of disillusionment with our Church’s leadership and their collusion with dissipated politicians. The insidious nature of these progressives within our Church can’t be overcome with prayer alone, but has to be dealt with by a loud resistance and a spiritual revolution by faithful men and women willing to speak up. We want a Church Triumphant.
I just recently read that the reason God allows evil, not by His active will but by His Passive will, is to restore good, He allows evil to become more manifest so that people will be moved to get more involved with challenging the culture of death. And this is my take, but when people are asleep at the wheel (as they say) with their own issues and just half heartedly challenge the culture, God wakes us up.
Good luck with that argument on Judgment Day.
As for God allowing evil. (passively) to become more manifest for the greater good so that people are forced to choose openly between good & evil. No excuse in judgement. Knowingly or unknowingly alligns themselves with Satan. That, I believe, will happen on Judgement Day.
The problem with the “God is working behind the scenes to do something amazing that will impress everyone” is that the longer these evils drag on and hurt the church and the world, the less plausible it is. The “Pray and fast more for reparations” mantra wears thin. Man does not live on blind faith alone. I think the “Where are you God?” people have a good point.
Agree somewhat we all get discouraged but we can’t become hopeless and we have to know God is in charge and He will bring good out of it. Praying and fasting can never wear thin if you know it’s for the greater good for God’s plan. I believe trust is essential for our salvation
Oh no, God! This speck of dust on Your grain of sand is on strike. What are You going to do? I don’t know what rockin’ job he was doing for You but I am sure You can get another who will do the job better.
I know You died for him, suffered excruciating torture for him, got him baptized, fed him with Your Body and Blood but he will not work for you anymore unless you give him things of the world that he wants. Humanity ever ungrateful…
“Liberal Catholics” want a government that supports life from conception through natural death but does not impose our views on everyone.
Education for the young and protection for the elderly. Respect for differences. Equal opportunity for historically disenfranchised citizens. The “inalienable” rights so beautifully expressed in the founding documents finally available to all.
Dona no pacem, I guess the liberal Catholics in Germany in the 1930’s were prolife, but, just didn’t want to “impose” their views on Nazis, Jews and other Germans. If one really supports life, one is obligated to defend innocent life against unjust aggression.
Dona nobis pacem, you and “liberal” catholics won’t have peace because you know you are attempting to compromise and change Orthodox Catholic teaching. Liberal catholics are like
informal Protestants. You are trying to justify yourself and lead others astray in the hope of assuaging your conscience.
You say you “want a government that supports life from conception….” ,
But that is not what you voted for.
Didn’t you read this article that Biden will “dismantle the administration’s pro-life policies…” By voting for Biden, you have supported for infanticide, fetal and embryonic testing, transgenderism, unnatural acts, loss of conscience protections for MDs, RNs; loss of parental notification and consent; legalized drugs legalized, rioting and looting, obstructing charter, private schools, and homeschooling, increased crime, attacks on the Constitution, etc.
Dona nobis pacem… if suddenly there was movement to push for sex with children, do you believe “our views” against such nonsense should be imposed on others? When exactly are liberals “catholics” going defend the natural moral/order against such evil?
I am so glad to hear that liberal Catholics will not impose their views on anyone. What a relief.
Dona nobis pacem, do you understand how compassionless and arrogant that is? Of course, I’m too good to have an abortion and I’m too good to approve of abortion but all those lesser folks-well we can’t impose our superior view on them.
Liberal fake Catholics – take it, own it, don’t say you weren’t warned. When they come for the Catholics, they will skip you.
The United States is not a theocracy. Religious freedom is a core value.
Mike, so were American abolitionists and others, virtually all Christians, creating a theocracy when they ended slavery?
Of course not. Can you name one prominent person in the US proposing a theocracy?
Religious freedom does not permit one to own (in the case of slavery) or kill (in the case of abortion) another person.
Mike M how is not wanting to kill unborn babies create a theocracy? I really want you to answer this.
It was great to read that the Holy Father offered his blessing to President-elect Biden today. I pray that the Holy See will continue to investigate the causes for cannonization of Americans currently in the pipeline such as Venerable Henriette Delille.
Joe Biden is a candidate for sainthood because on election day he raised thousands of voters from the dead.
Love that comment Kevin T! Funny.
Biden is the deep state and unfortunately Pope Francis is the deep church.
I prayed and prayed for President Trump’s reelection but God works in mysterious ways. Thank you God for sending US Donaldus Magnus for 4 years. Best President ever.
My thought bubble includes a revolutionary thought; 99.99% of liberal Catholics don’t know they are liberal Catholics. Good people get up every morning wanting to lead good lives, many of them go to Mass on Sunday in the only form they have experienced in their lifetimes, they give to good causes and mean well. So, is Biden what Liberal Catholics wanted? Who knows? I doubt that it was important to most Catholics that Biden was a Catholic if they even knew that about him. Somehow, he got five million more popular votes than the current president. It is possible that a lot of people were tired of daily chaos and just wanted to have good-old-Joe settle things down for a while. The premise of the article may be wrong. Some people think that a liberal democrat is an oxymoron. For others, it seems normal.
The chaos in this country was caused, orchestrated, funded by the Left. Don’t you get it?
Anon, some examples would be helpful. I have a different view, but open to new facts.
Bob One of course you have different view, in your view the Left is never guilty of any crime or wrong doing. You on the Left will never understand us and we will never be like you.
The bishop of Biden’s diocese has declared that Biden should not receive Holy Communion because of his support for abortion. Now he wants to kill unborn babies round the world and make US taxpayers pay for this genocide. I suppose it is too much to ask the pope to excommunicate him, which Biden so richly deserves, but the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura (essentially the chief justice of the Vatican’s Supreme Court) should declare, as he did regarding Pelosi, that Biden should not receive Holy Communion anywhere, anytime.
Biden is despicable. He just can’t kill enough unborn babies.
Where did you “hear” that?
According to the diocese, the bishop congratulated Biden and made no mention of his (not) receiving Holy Communion. Here’s from the bishop’s own paper:
http://thedialog.org/featured/bishop-malooly-offers-prayers-for-president-elect-biden-looks-to-the-future-with-hope/
And, does anyone think almost-Cardinal Gregory will speak with Biden about not receiving the Body and Blood of our Lord when/if he attends Mass in the Archdiocese of Washington?
Biden was denied Holy Communion:
https://nypost.com/2019/10/29/joe-biden-denied-communion-at-mass-because-of-abortion-stance/
The Bishops have lost all credibility and that’s why traditional Catholics no longer contribute to any organizations they might support because some of them give money to pro-abortion and pro-homosexual, BLM, and other radial leftist groups. Also some are involved with contraception and who knows maybe even abortion. If Catholics don’t know that they are clueless or Catholics in Name Only. As for Cardinal Gregory, pal of McCarrick, we know he won’t refuse Biden because he’s like the other liberal Bishops, and I’ll be charitable and say, confused. .
That was in South Carolina. The Carolina bishops have been pretty clear. If someone knows of Mr. Biden’s own bishop making a statement on this issue, let us know.
I will check that out about his own Bishop but what difference does it make? It takes courage to deny someone who advances the destruction of innocent life, mass killing, and say no you can’t receive the Body & Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ if you believe in killing the image of God in those lives. And let’s not forget that this action could possibly save his soul in the end. I’m remembering Hugh Carey of NY who was denied Communion because of his support of abortion & he eventually repented before he died!
Not So Fast: In 2008, Bishop Joseph Martino of Scranton, Pennsylvania, described as Joe Biden’s hometown diocese, informed him that he was banned from Holy Communion. And surely Biden’s current campaign advisers have informed him that this year Cardinal Raymond Burke publicly warned him not to take Holy Communion.
http://www.hli.org/2019/10/south-carolina-priest...
Let’s see if any of our current members of the USCCB has the nerve to speak “truth to power” when the president of the US presents himself for Communion….. I think not. However, most of us will never know anyway because our liberal media will never tell us. And, if he does get the Sacrament, the press will shout from the mountain top, that the church endorses all that Biden stands for. Get ready all, we are in for a rough ride with the Harris-Biden ticket (her words) in power.
Benedict option.
Thank you Fr Illo for your homily, wish there were more priests like you. God bless you and keep you safe.