Joseph R. Biden’s campaign now faces a $9.7 million ad campaign by a Catholic group that sees his policies as “an existential threat” to religious liberty.
CatholicVote will target swing states in the upcoming presidential election while discussing the Democratic nominee’s political stance on abortion, his muted response to attacks on Christian symbols in recent months and other issues.
“Catholics everywhere know all life is sacred,” a narrator for its “Indispensable” ad released Monday says. “Joe Biden would force American Catholics to pay for abortions, sacrificing his Catholic values to kneel before the leftist mob.”
The assertion is in reference to Mr. Biden’s recent reversal on the Hyde Amendment, which bans federal funding for abortion except in cases of rape, incest and risks to a woman’s life.
“I made a commitment that I would not ever attempt to impose my religious views on anyone else in terms of how it relates to this most unique question in all of humanity: When does the human life begin? When does that occur,” Mr. Biden said in June 2019 in defense of his position. “And so I’m not going to do that, and conversely I find myself in a position, how do you say to now the women who are in poverty that increasingly have no access to women’s health care?”
CatholicVote President Brian Burch isn’t impressed with his rationale.
“Joe Biden’s record makes clear he will not protect our Catholic values or defend our way of life,” Mr. Burch said in a statement. “For Catholics who cherish the Faith and their freedom to live it, a Biden presidency represents an existential threat.”
Mr. Biden’s campaign did not respond to the The Hill’s request for comment on the matter.
His website’s “Catholics for Biden” section, however, implores the faithful to support him because “no matter where you start in life, everyone should be able to live up to their God-given potential. [Joe Biden] knows that we need to rebuild the middle class, and this time make sure everybody comes along — regardless of race, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. And he believes the Catholic community plays a critical role in this.”
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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