Democrat Rep. Jared Huffman (CA) accused the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) of politically weaponizing religion by “rebuking” Democrats who support abortion, and the congressman suggested that these Catholic churches should be punished by losing their tax-exempt status.
Huffman said the church was aiming to rebuke “Democrats who support women’s reproductive choice,” a term that obfuscates the actual position of the church by suggesting it is the ability to choose that is opposed and not what is being chosen. The term also ignores the fact that reproduction must have already occurred in order for an abortion to be possible, and abortion is by definition ending a human life.
“If they’re going to politically weaponize religion by ‘rebuking’ Democrats who support women’s reproductive choice, then a ‘rebuke’ of their tax-exempt status may be in order,” Huffman tweeted.
If they're going to politically weaponize religion by "rebuking" Democrats who support women's reproductive choice, then a "rebuke" of their tax-exempt status may be in order. https://t.co/P6TGVCOMYp
— Rep. Jared Huffman (@JaredHuffman) June 18, 2021
Huffman’s tweet was in response to an illogical statement written by 60 Catholic House Democrats last week in which they described the decision by the USCCB as the “weaponization of the Eucharist.”
“We are committed to making real the basic principles that are at the heart of Catholic social teaching: helping the poor, disadvantaged, and the oppressed, protecting the least among us and ensuring that all Americans of every faith are given meaningful opportunities to share in the blessings of this great country,” the statement said, alluding to the idea that there is a bottom asymptote one must reach before being considered by them as eligible for protection as “the least among us.”
The statement continued, “We envision a world in which every child belongs to a loving family and agree with the Catholic Church about the value of human life. Each of us is committed to reducing the number of unintended pregnancies and creating an environment with policies that encourage pregnancies to be carried to term and provide resources to raise healthy and secure children. We believe this includes promoting alternatives to abortion, such as adoption, improving access to children’s healthcare and child care, and creating a child benefit through the expanded and improved Child Tax Credit.”
The statement did not clarify why abortions were immoral, or if they were not immoral then why promote alternatives.
“The weaponization of the Eucharist to Democratic lawmakers for their support of a woman’s safe and legal access to abortion is contradictory,” the statement added, including the modifiers “safe and legal” before “access to abortion” to again suggest it was not the act of abortion itself that is opposed.
