Full Text of Joe Biden's abortion remarks and an analysis

Bigger issue seems disorderly thought and speech

President Joe Biden recently got in hot water in abortion rights circles for his remarks about saying he was not a big fan of abortion due to his Catholic faith. I tracked down the full text of his remarks from the White House website for people to have a better understanding of the context and fullness of what he said. Here is what I took from the White House website

“How about — did you ever think we’d be in a position where not only 55 years of Roe v. Wade would be overruled, but then you have two justices saying, “And, by the way, let’s make it clear there is no right to privacy to who you marry.  There’s no right of privacy…”  And it goes down the whole list of things.  Contraception.  And when I said they’re going to go after that, what’s happening now in many states across the nation?  Outlawing contraception.

So I’m — you know, I happen to be a practicing Catholic. I’m not big on abortion.  But guess what?  Roe v. Wade got it right.  Roe v. Wade cut in a place where the vast majority of religions have reached agreement.  Historically, the first three months or thereabouts, in all major religions, was: That’s between a woman and her doctor.  The next three months is between — I mean, just a woman and her family.  Next three months is between a woman and her doctor.  The last three months have to be negotiated because you can’t — unless you are in a position where your physical health is at stake — you can’t do it.

And so, in addition to that, we found out that it used to be an accepted principle that rape and incest were exceptions — were exceptions to that rule.  Look at the states that have changed the rules.  Look at the states that have changed the rules.  State legislatures.  Did you ever think you’d see a day when you would not only — forget your position on abortion — but were rape and incest were not even considered, number one?  Couldn’t be.  And at the same time, we’re in a situation where you were — we’re banning books in schools, and not just any — not just the schoolboard; anybody can come in and call for the banning of a book.”

The issue I have with his speech is that he generally seems disorganized in his thinking. Many people would use this likely as a case-in-point for why someone younger should be running for president on both sides of the political divide. They are not outlawing contraception in any state. In fact, even in Republican states, they are passing laws that have expanded birth control access so it can be prescribed by pharmacists. A right to privacy still exists because Griswold v. Connecticut still stands as law. 

It’s hard to make sense out of the second paragraph about abortion being an issue hashed out between a woman and her doctor for the first three months, then her and her family the next three, and then negotiable by the government in the last three. Additionally, many Republicans have now begun to say they favor rape and incest exceptions, but the point of criticism is how they plan on enforcing those exceptions. Will they investigate an accusation before an abortion is permitted? Will a young girl have to endure rigorous questioning about such an uncomfortable topic? 

From a religious viewpoint, the criticism would be that Biden thinks you have to be antiabortion in order to be Catholic. One of the strongest support organizations he has is Catholics for Choice, and remarks like this marginalize them as well as nearly half the Catholic community that is pro-choice.

There is plenty of evidence to support Catholics favoring abortion rights. Even in Ireland, which is heavily Catholic, they managed to get a pro-choice movement off the ground. Dr. Gillian Frank, who studies religion at Princeton University, has a forthcoming work that in part talks about how priests were part of the Clergy Consultation Service, which provided help to women seeking abortions before Roe v. Wade. I even interviewed a nun at a retirement community a year back in which her views echoed Biden’s. If someone were within the actual church, then forswearing abortion while arguing for continued access may be a logical tact to persuade people. But for the general public, it’s fair to say that he should take a more robust and well-worded defense of abortion rights.