Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 14, 2020 / 08:30 am
Pro-life leaders have said that policy decisions and presidential appointments made within the first 100 days of a Biden administration could roll back conscience protections and civil liberties for Catholic organizations and medical providers, and reverse limits on taxpayer funding for abortion procedures overseas.
While much of the political focus on abortion remains on future Supreme Court nominees and the possibility of revising or overturning Roe vs. Wade, pro-life leaders told CNA that the president holds sway directly over several key appointments and policy areas related to life issues, and that the effects of a pro-abortion administration would be immediate.
Joseph Meaney, president of the National Catholic Bioethics Center, told CNA that former vice president Joe Biden has taken "the most extreme stance he could on the abortion issue."
Biden has reversed his previous support for Hyde amendment-which prohibits taxpayer funding for abortion procedures-Meaney said, and "basically signaled with that [announcement] that he was not going to do any pro-life stance in any way, shape, or form."