Commentary
“Our Jewish brothers and sisters,” squad member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez explained during a recent rant, “are able to have an abortion according to their faith.” Many religions, the congresswoman goes on, do not share the “fundamentalist Christian” definition of life. They too have a right to exercise their faith, and to stand in their way is “authoritarian” and “theocratic.”
Ocasio-Cortez is a perfect straw man for this piece because she completely misunderstands not only the Jewish position on abortion but religious freedom, as well.
For one thing, does AOC, who is purportedly Catholic, believe that Pope Francis—who, like every pontiff in history, views abortion as “murder”—is a “Christian fundamentalist”? Perhaps. Until about five minutes ago, even science lovers believed life began at conception. The abortion debate revolved around the ethical question of when life was worth protecting….