. . . Joe Biden is coming under scrutiny for a new interview in which he says he thinks Catholics can support abortion. Biden also comes under fire for misstating the effect of Roe v. Wade and denying that it allows virtually unlimited abortions throughout pregnancy.
-- From "Joe Biden: Catholic Can be Pro-Abortion, Misstates Effect of Roe v. Wade" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com Editor 10/21/08
Biden goes on to misrepresent the position of the Catholic Church on abortion in a way that has gotten him in trouble recently.
"But throughout the church's history, we've argued between whether or not it is wrong in every circumstance and the degree of wrong. Catholics have this notion, it's almost a gradation," Biden claimed.
Biden tells the Delaware newspaper that he believes in the trimester-based approach to regulating abortions that allows more limits on abortions as the baby grows.
"I am prepared as a senator to say that the framework of Roe v. Wade based upon this imperfect trimester notion captures the gravity of how you should approach this most serious of decisions relating to life and death," he said.
But Douglas Johnson, the legislative director of National Right to Life, says Biden "badly mischaracterizes the Supreme Court's doctrines on abortion."
"In 1992, the Supreme Court reaffirmed the 'core holdings' of Roe v. Wade on a vote of 5 to 4," Johnson explained. "At the same time, the Court explicitly repudiated any distinction whatever between the first and second trimester, writing, 'We reject the trimester framework, which we do not consider to be part of the essential holding of Roe.'"
That is important because Roe actually allows unlimited abortions at any point in pregnancy, Johnson said.
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