Yes, Virginia, there is such a thing as pro-life Democrats. And yes, there are some in Denver at the party's nominating convention, even if the mainstream media don't interview them.
Christianity Today has found a few and has been covering them at the magazine's CTPolitics blog. But if you are looking for tough questions, you won't find them from staffer Sarah Pulliam in her interview with Illinois Rep. Dan Lipinski.
Here's the agenda of questions:
- What obstacles do you face as a pro-life Democrat?
- Why are you a Democrat?
- Why are you pro-life?
- What about Barack Obama?
To the first question Lipinski lamented that
the Democratic Party is not going to have a pro-life platform. It's not going to happen. It's very unfortunate, but I think it's very important for the Democratic Party to have pro-life party.
Never going to happen? Perhaps that prompted Pulliam's next question, "Why are you a Democrat?" But Pulliam could have probed Lipinski further.
After all, the Democratic Party did change it's platform language on abortion -- something Pulliam's magazine reported -- but failed to allow any room for pro-life concessions such as parental notification, waiting periods, born-alive protections, or removing the party plank describing abortion as a right regardless of ability to pay (READ: taxpayers should pay for abortions for poor women).
Lipinski told Pulliam that "when I think the Democratic Party is wrong, I'm willing to say it. I'm willing to speak up and willing vote for what I think is right."
Unfortunately for readers of CT, Pulliam failed to push Lipinski on his thoughts about the deficiencies of the new party platform language on abortion.
