Last night during the Vice Presidential debate, we were given quite the surprise when a question concerning a social issue came into play towards the end.  Martha Raddatz, the clearly partisan moderator, asked the candidates about their common religious faith, Catholicism, and how it affected their view on abortion.

Republican candidate Paul Ryan eloquently summed up that his Catholic faith isn’t the only factor as to why he is pro-life.  He listed, as the majority of pro-lifers would, reason and science as also backing the fact that all life is created at conception.  He went on to state that “the policy of a Romney administration will be to oppose abortion with the exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother.”  Vice President Joe Biden, going quickly from loud and angry to speaking barely above a whisper, said he “accepts (his) church’s position on abortion” and that the church’s judgement is that life begins at conception; not exactly a strong endorsement.  Biden added that while he has accepted the church’s stance in his personal life, he refuses to impose his belief on others that may not hold the same position.  The escape pod of supporting life personally but not wanting to force the belief onto others is a weak excuse with which most everyone in the pro-life community is familiar.  Logically  it doesn’t follow, of course, but logic usually isn’t found on the left side of the isle.

In this case, however, both men only expressed logic to various degrees.  Biden can’t truly believe personally that life begins at conception, and therefor killing it would be murder, but he can’t ask others not to murder.  Ryan, while excellently defending the issue of life, was in the precarious position of having to portray unity with Romney while privately believing otherwise.  Ryan personally believes that, aside for the life of the mother, there should be no exceptions for abortion.  Situations in which the life of the mother and the child are at risk are medical in nature and usually made with the guidance of a doctor, who is bound by his oath not to cause harm to anyone.  His dedication to his personal beliefs and remaining unified with Romney can be seen in the wording he chose to express the position of the campaign.  “the policy of a Romney administration will be to….”  In fact it is Romney who believes that exceptions should exist for incest and rape.  However, those exceptions are not logical and are as cruel as any abortion.

For instance, imagine a woman with a three year old child.  Now imagine the woman stating that even after all this time, the child still reminds her of the man who raped her and causes her emotional pain with each glance.  Who of you would recommend the woman have her three year old killed because her plight is difficult?  The events that preceded the life that began in the womb should have no bearing on the value of that life.  Punishing the son for the sins of the father is not the standard of our great nation.

The Romney/Ryan ticket is a strong one and they will lead our country in the right direction to recover from the enormous damage the current administration has inflicted.  Ryan’s pro-life position, along with his other consistently conservative views, means he will be a champion for the unborn in the White House.  With him at our side, the pro-life community can rest assured that it will have a voice to help Romney and others see that ALL life is valuable and worthy of saving.