Editor’s Note: Today’s guest post comes from Saira Khan, a Pakistani-American woman who is vehemently pro-choice. She currently works in publishing but dedicates her free time to social commentary on her personal blog. Saira graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2009 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and hopes to pursue a Master’s in Journalism.
Over the past few weeks, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has made it very clear that they do not support the Obama Administration’s recent birth control mandate. Their main argument against it is that it violates their right to religious freedom. In regard to this notion, journalist Dante Atkins asks: “Where Were the Catholic Bishops when Troy Davis Died?,” referring to the recent execution of the man millions believe to have been wrongfully accused.
Anti-abortion Catholics and the bishops in question subscribe to the belief that all life is sacred. They don’t believe in birth control and most definitely don’t believe in abortions. More so, the Catholic Church officially opposes capital punishment. Atkins adds,
“This doctrine is in the same vein as those opposing abortion, birth control, and physician-assisted suicide: church doctrine dictates that life begins at conception and is a gift from God. Consequently, it is beyond the scope of any soul, no matter how high the earthly authority, to terminate a human life. It does not matter if it is legal, and it does not matter if the rationale is to relieve suffering: the taking of life is God’s department, not ours.”
I had the pleasure of participating in a conference call with 
Is a Personhood Statute Coming to a State Near You? – 
employees. Although health care needs are covered through the campus health insurance, 
I saw a bumper sticker at the grocery store yesterday that really burned my biscuits. It said, “You can’t be Catholic and Pro-Choice.” Ever the activist, I left a note on the car that said, “Yes you can!” I’m pretty sure the dude saw me as he was walking towards his car. I hope he did. The note wasn’t in the parking lot when I left. So he obviously read it.
Supreme Court hopeful Sonia Sotomayor may be the first Latina to be nominated to the high court, but she’s certainly not the first Catholic. Five other justices are Catholic – Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas, and Chief Justice John Roberts. In the history of the Supreme Court there have been a total of 11 out of 110 justices who have been Catholic. It’s hard to say how much influence a person’s religion has on their decision making process, but it certainly poses an interesting question for pro-choice advocates who are concerned about Sotomayor’s record on abortion.
