Planned Parenthood responds to O?Malley - Obama,Barack
Planned Parenthood today sent along a response to criticism of the organization from Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Boston. O’Malley had singled out the organization in a post-Election Day interview with me about abortion and politics; the cardinal said that Obama “is possibly in the pocket of Planned Parenthood, which in its origins was a very racist organization to eliminate the blacks, and it?s sort of ironic that he?s been co-opted by them.”
The Planned Parenthood response does not address O’Malley’s critique, but rather alleges that the cardinal is out of step with Catholics (a suggestion O’Malley in some ways might not dispute — he has repeatedly said that the some of the church’s teachings are “countercultural,” and that the church could do better persuading rank-and-file Catholics of its teachings; however, he also has pointed out that weekly communicants are more often in agreement with church teachings than less frequent church attenders.)
Here is the Planned Parenthood response, from Dianne Luby (right), the president and CEO of the Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts:
“It diminishes Cardinal Sean P. O?Malley?s credibility when he attacks President-elect Barack Obama and Planned Parenthood for views and services his own members overwhelmingly support. He and several of the other participants at the US Conference of Catholic Bishops are eager to jump into politics, as we saw recently with their comments about President-elect Obama?s position on abortion. If Cardinal O?Malley is going to opine on politics, and the bishops are planning to discuss lessons learned from last week?s election, it would be good for them to understand why their messages didn?t stick with their primary audience.President-elect Obama?s success stems from his ability to propose solutions that reflect the reality of issues faced by the American people. According to estimates by the Catholic Bishops of the United States, 92% of married Catholics use some form of birth control. And a 2006 poll conducted by RKM Research and Communications revealed that 72% of Catholic voters in the Commonwealth support comprehensive sex education ? which includes information about abstinence, condoms and birth control ? in our public schools.
These are issues that the Catholic Church and Cardinal O?Malley have repeatedly refused to acknowledge as a mainstream part of health and education in our society. Perhaps Cardinal O?Malley should spend less time sharing political opinions and more time listening to the reality of life for his own constituency.
The Catholic Church has an opportunity to reconnect with their members around these issues. Cardinal O?Malley in a recent interview in Baltimore said, ?We want to do all that we can to reduce the number of abortions.? President-elect Obama succeeded with voters by highlighting messages about preventing unintended pregnancy and reducing the need for abortion. At Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, we share that belief and would welcome the opportunity to work with Cardinal O?Malley towards this goal.
For more than eighty years Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts has been a trusted healthcare provider and advocate for affordable care. We provide high quality, affordable services to those in need, including birth control, cancer screenings and sexual health education. In fact, 70% of our services are related to preventative care, not abortion.
Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts offers comprehensive sex education programs that focus on abstinence but also on prevention. We think that abstinence is the right goal for young teens, but we live in the real world and we know that this isn?t always the case. It is important to provide young people with the tools and information they need to make good decisions and enter into healthy relationships. Our programs empower parents to be the primary sexuality educators of their children in order to keep them safe and healthy, goals for parents that are certainly shared by the Catholic Church.
Cardinal O?Malley and the bishops have a lot of work to do in order to reconnect with their members. The constitutional right to abortion has always been a very private decision between a woman, her physician, her family and her clergy. It appears from exit polls during this most recent election cycle, that Cardinal O?Malley is out of step with most voters on this very personal decision. The American public has re-asserted why they do not agree by defeating anti-choice referendums in California, Colorado, and South Dakota.
President-elect Obama bridged differences across party and religious lines to resounding success. We must all follow his example, by changing the focus from what divides us to our shared goals of reducing abortion and decreasing risky behavior among young people.”
Obviously this is an emotional issue for many people; please feel free to offer your own thoughts here, but these comments are monitored (by me) so if you want anyone to see your comment, no obscenities, and try to keep the name-calling in check.
(Photo by Tom Herde, Globe staff.)
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