Religion & Law

Obama watchers have been forwarding to me hat-tips and expressions of growing dismay about the various appointments to the new administration, particularly for what these choices say about the assurances we had received from Catholic supporters of the Obama campaign that the new administration would not be as unfriendly as past Democratic candidates and officials toward the claims of the unborn.  A new era, we were told, was about to dawn.  We need not fear major setbacks in human rights for the unborn -- or so we were promised.

Unfortunately, the record thus far confirms that NARAL and Planned Parenthood have been the farm teams for the Obama administration's domestic policy personnel choices.  And openness to pro-life views appears to have ended on election day.

As examples of Obama appointments to domestic policy positions:

* Dawn Johnsen as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of Justice (which establishes legal policy for the administration).  She was the Legal Director for NARAL and part of ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project.  (This is the central post in the Department of Justice held by Doug Kmiec during the Reagan Administration and by Antonin Scalia during the Ford Administration.)

* Eric Holder as Attorney General.  He has been a longtime supporter of "abortion rights."

* Rahm Emanuel as White House Chief of Staff.  He had a 100 percent NARAL voting record as a member of Congress and a reputation as an aggressive pro-choice politician.

* Melody Barnes as Chair of the Domestic Policy Council.  She has been a member of the boards of directors for both Planned Parenthood and Emily's List.

* Tom Daschle as Secretary of Health & Human Services.  He is a long-time "pro-choice" Catholic and recent fundraiser for NARAL.

* Ellen Moran as White House Director of Communications.  She is the current executive director of Emily's List.

* Harold Varmus, Co-Chair of White House Council of Advisors on Science and Technology .  He was Director of the National Institutes of Health when it published a report calling for funding of all forms of embryo research, including the creation of embryos solely for the sake of research and work on embryos up to 21 days of development.

No word yet on appointment of anyone with pro-life views to any meaningful policy position in the forthcoming Obama administration.  And also no word that any of the prominent Catholic supporters of the Obama campaign has had any positive influence on appointments in a less pro-abortion direction or has expressed disappointment about the growing trend.  Heavy sigh.

Greg Sisk