Last Thursday’s Vice Presidential Debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan highlighted many hot button issues currently up for debate within the political community.
A Gallup poll conducted between Sept. 6 to Sept. 9 indicated that 72 percent of Americans believe policy regarding the troubled economy is the most important voting issue. However, many political pundits believe that, due in part to the Vice Presidential debate, the issue of abortion and contraception rights will be magnified in the coming weeks.
On Thursday, Vice President Biden restated his and the Obama campaign’s position on abortion. Although both men are Christians, they believe that federal and state governments should not be able to impede on a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions.
Paul Ryan affirmed the Romney campaign’s stance, which states, that life begins at conception and that abortion should only be permitted in cases of rape, incest or if the mother’s life is threatened.
Many political pundits believe the discussion of this issue during the debate will only intensify the issue due to the controversy surrounding a statement made a few months ago by Republican congressman Todd Akin of Missouri.
On Aug. 12, Akin defined certain types of rape as “legitimate” and that victims of such rape rarely get pregnant because their bodies prevent it. The comment by Akin was proven to be false and he later apologized and recanted.
Taylor Sassu ’15 stated, “Todd Akin’s comments really called into question the Republican Party’s stance on abortion rights.
If members of the party like Todd Akin logically believe that about a woman’s body, how can they be trusted to create and sign legislation into law regarding abortion?”
Some pundits believe the abortion issue could also invite discussion regarding the political furor behind a contraception mandate proposed by President Obama early in the year. In February, President Obama initially announced a plan that would have forced Catholic hospitals to pay for contraception as part of their patients’ insurance plans. Due to political backlash, Obama later worked out a plan in which insurance companies would indirectly pay for the contraception in place of the hospitals.
“Many people felt that this mandate infringed upon the Catholic Church’s religious freedom because contraception is against Church teachings. Although President Obama changed his policy, I believe the move hurt him politically,” said Jake Ruskan ’15.
Yet, ultimately what matters in the upcoming presidential election is whether voters feel Mitt Romney or Barack Obama better represent their own view and the view of the American people on the two issues. Likely voter Jordan Freeman ‘13 says, “I feel that President Barack Obama best represents the views of the American people when it comes to contraceptive and abortion issues. The President takes a hands-off approach and allows women to make their own choices in handling these issues with their bodies. I would be assumed that a majority of Americans would prefer to keep their personal, legal decisions out of the hands of the government and those not directly involved in their lives.”
On the other hand, likely voter Tom Zaleski ‘14 says, “I believe Mitt Romney best represents the American people on abortion and contraception policy. Regarding abortion, the majority of Americans are Christians and believe that life begins at conception. I also felt that the Obama administration mandate that the Catholic Church pay for their patients contraception was a violation of first amendment rights and Mitt Romney was critical of that initial decision.”
Gallup, as of Feb. 27, found that 72 percent of Americans feel the contraception mandate is unconstitutional. As of May 9, Gallup found that 50 percent of Americans are pro-life, while 41 percent are pro-choice. The poll found that women are 6 percent more likely to be pro-choice and men are 7 percent more likely to be pro-life.
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