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Evangelical Leaders Are Supportive After Palin Says Her Unmarried Daughter Is Pregnant

By Howard M. Friedman

Within hours after Republican vice-presidential choice Sarah Palin announced that her unmarried 17-year old daughter is pregnant and will marry the father of the child, two leading pro-life religious leaders have issued statements supporting Palin. Dr. Richard Land, President of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, quoted by CBN News said in part:

This is the pro-life choice. The fact that people will criticize her for this shows the astounding extent to which the secular critics of the pro-life movement just don?t get it. Those who criticize the Palin family don?t understand that we don?t see babies as a punishment but as a blessing....

Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family, in a statement quoted in full by ABC News said in part:

... [T]he Palins should be commended once again for not just talking about their pro-life and pro-family values, but living them out.... Being a Christian does not mean you're perfect. Nor does it mean your children are perfect. But it does mean there is forgiveness and restoration when we confess our imperfections to the Lord.... The media are already trying to spin this as evidence Gov. Palin is a 'hypocrite,' but all it really means is that she and her family are human.

Reuters has further coverage of Palin's announcement. David Brody writing at CBN News says more broadly that the Palin developments will be a positive, not a negative, with Evangelicals. A Washington Post analysis says it is too early to definitively reach that conclusion.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on September 01, 2008 (boomark / email).