Despite the prominence of both the Catholic and Evangelical Christian faith among the nation’s Hispanic population, so far during this general election campaign season the efforts by the presidential candidates to engage voters from a faith perspective have been almost entirely absent from the news coverage of the two leading Spanish-language television networks, Univision and Telemundo.
In fact, since Labor Day, neither network has paid any attention in its principal national evening newscasts to related developments, such as Donald Trump’s formation of both Catholic and pro-life advisory committees, along with expanded commitments to the pro-life cause.
With over 70% of Hispanics in the United States identifying as either Catholic or Evangelical, it should almost go without saying that this aspect of the campaign would certainly be of interest to many of the networks’ viewers.
Perhaps the greatest example of the sharp difference between the two leading presidential candidates on a public policy issue of high priority to many Catholics and Evangelical Christians is the future of the ban on federal funding for abortion, known as the Hyde Amendment.
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In their 2016 platform, for the first time the Democratic Party called for the outright repeal of the Hyde Amendment. This stance has proven to be extreme even for some Democrats, such as pro-life Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who called the referenced platform language “crazy”. The American public as a whole agrees with him. According to a Knight of Columbus/Marist poll, 62% of Americans oppose taxpayer-funded abortions.
It’s also no secret where most Hispanics stand on this issue. Recent polling shows that 53% of U.S Hispanics oppose abortion. The trend is also strong among Hispanic millennials against abortion. These findings are also consistent with polls throughout Latin America, where in most countries opposition to abortion is significantly higher than that seen in the United States.
As we enter the home stretch of the U.S. presidential election campaign, Univision and Telemundo are expected to further intensify their coverage. So far, these networks have been doing a real disservice to their viewers by ignoring angles and issues such as these, which are certainly relevant to the electoral decision-making processes of the Hispanic Christian faithful in America.
