The question is, “What is the greater sin, to lie under oath to a secular committee, or to be instrumental in the slaughter of unborn children.”
If Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed to the Supreme Court, (Judiciary vote now on 9/20/18) we will have five conservatives who were indoctrinated into the Catholic religion as children. Roberts, Alito, Thomas, Gorsuch and Kavenaugh. None of these have proclaimed their separation from this religion even though Gorsuch is now a member of the Episcopalian Church. While many evangelical Christian sects oppose abortion, only Catholicism describes it as a “mortal sin.”
The first amendment of the Constitution is a two edged sword for those of us who are secular, as it does prevent the formal establishment of any given religion but also protects the “… free expression thereof” Free expression of religion at the time was considered attending services and following certain practices integral to the religion — such as prayers, ceremonies and perhaps even dress.
The well known “Hobby Lobby” decision is derived from the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), as described in this WaPo article questioning whether it should be repealed. It is rarely referenced that a single Justice, John Paul Stevens, in his dissent pointed out that it elevated religion above the rights of the nonbelievers and therefore was unconstitutional.
The RFRA law that, by the way, was sponsored by a then not too well known member of the House of Representatives, Charles Schumer, did go through some revisions, and eventually required individual states to pass it’s own version of the law, has metastasized to extremes
Pharmacists in many states may refuse to fill prescriptions for contraceptives, and even non professionals, can often with impunity, throw a monkey wrench into the abortion procedure with some backing by derivations of RFRA
There are numerous categories of questions that Kavanaugh refused to answer, which he gave illustrations of the last eight appointees doing the same. However, the question that I propose, to the best of my knowledge is not only appropriate, but has no history of other nominees refusing to answer.
============
Judge Kavanaugh,
To probe the nature and details of an individuals’ religious belief is not only considered an encroachment on his or her privacy, but in an employment setting is potentially unlawful based on the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In the political area, however, a candidate’s religious values are often one of the considerations of the electorate in making a choice.
The current President of the United States in a recorded speech made the statement that concluded with, “I love God.” His running mate, Mike Pence, defines his central identity with these words: "I'm a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order,"
Judge Kavanaugh, you have described your Catholicism as an important part of your life in your introduction here, yet one of the primary issues for many Senators is integral to the religion that you embrace. Therefore, in this case it is appropriate to pierce the veil of privacy on an issue of vital importance to millions of women, which is this:
Specifically relating to abortion, which according to Catholic doctrine is a sin, would an interpretation of a law that facilitates such destruction of a fetus, impose a spiritual burden that could influence your thinking.
Since this is something you must have given considerable thought, we would appreciate the full sharing your views with this committee and the public.
============