Abortion Advocates Hold Up Congressional Resolution Honoring Pope Benedict
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 17, 2008
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Pope Benedict XVI is receiving bipartisan praise and support for his visit to the United States and his advocacy of human rights. However, that spirit of unity wasn’t enough to trump old fashioned abortion politics in the U.S. Senate as abortion advocates held up a resolution to honor the pope.
Sen. Sam Brownback, a leading pro-life Catholic lawmaker, introduced what would normally be a non-controversial Senate resolution to honor someone.
The measure included praise for Pope Benedict’s heartfelt position advocating the Catholic Church’s teachings in respect for human life and against abortion and anti-life bioethics practices.
"Pope Benedict XVI has spoken out for the weak and vulnerable, witnessing to the value of each and every human life," the draft originally said.
The words were too much for Sen. Barbara Boxer who objected to the pro-life language and single-handedly held up the resolution welcoming the pontiff.
The Senate only approved the resolution after Brownback withdrew the pro-life language and the lawmaker had to text his staff to tell them to drop the pro-life wording from the resolution they were slated to present to Pope Benedict.
"There was some politics involved here, and the objectionable language has been withdrawn," a senior Democratic Senate aide told Politico.
A Boxer spokeswoman eventually said, "we are very pleased we were able to reach an agreement with Senator Brownback to remove the political language and pass this resolution welcoming Pope Benedict."
