National Association of Evangelicals VP Quits After Backing Pro-Abortion Obama
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 10, 2008
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — The vice-president of the National Association of Evangelicals has resigned his position following significant criticism after he announced he voted for pro-abortion presidential candidate Barack Obama. Richard Cizik has spent 28 years as an executive with the Christian organization.
Cizik appeared on the Fresh Air program on National Public Radio last Tuesday.
When asked which presidential candidate he supported, Cizik announced he had backed Obama in the Virginia primary and said the vote should give some indication of how he voted in the general election.
He went further and said that evangelicals could vote for a pro-abortion candidate even though they disagreed on pro-life issues.
Despite his support for a presidential candidate described by many as the most pro-abortion ever, the NAE told LifeNews.com in a statement that Cizik "has been a tireless advocate for a broad variety of issues important to the evangelical community including" the "sanctity of human life" and "opposition to abortion on demand."
Leith Anderson, NAE president, received so much criticism after Cizik’s remarks that he had to issue a statement clarifying that the organization is still pro-life.
Anderson said in his Thursday comments that the Cizik’s resignation was delayed because he was traveling abroad and that the two agreed his quitting the NAE "is a difficult but appropriate decision."
Mark Tooley, the head of UM Action, a pro-life group that works within the Methodist Church, told LifeNews.com after news of the resignation surfaced that "Cizik and the NAE leadership made a wise decision in his departure."
"Cizik had lost credibility for advocating positions that were not those of the NAE or most Evangelicals," Tooley added. "The IRD hopes the NAE can now focus on theological and ethical convictions that the Evangelicals hold strongly in common. This is particularly important when those convictions are being challenged in the public square."
Sign Up for Free Pro-Life News From LifeNews.com
Daily Pro-Life News Report Twice-Weekly Pro-Life
News Report Receive a free daily email report from LifeNews.com with the latest pro-life news stories on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here. Receive a free twice-weekly email report with the latest pro-life news headlines on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here.
