President Joe Biden seemed a little confused when he gave a speech at a church in South Carolina on Sunday.
First, he mistook the Declaration of Independence for the Constitution.
"The Bible teaches that we shall know the truth, and the truth shall set us free," Biden said, according to a White House transcript of his remarks. "Well, I think we do know the truth. We do know the truth. We do know what the choice is here. It's pretty stark. And it's about dignity, respect; it's about whether we believe --"
"We're the most unique nation in the world," Biden said. "Now, everybody says those kinds of things about their country, but every other country is organized based on ethnicity, based on geography, based on religion. But we're the only nation in the world based on an idea -- literally, an idea -- an idea contained in our Constitution that says, 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights' -- life, liberty, etc."
"We've never fully lived up to it, but we've never walked away from it," said Biden. "Every generation, we get closer; until now, it's at stake. It literally is at stake."
It is, of course, the Declaration of Independence -- not the Constitution -- that says "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
This was not the first time Biden made this mistake. Back on June 29, 2023, he did an interview with Nicolle Wallace on MSNBC. As reported by multiple news sites and memorialized on video, Biden said then: "The Constitution says: We hold these truths to be self-evident, all men and women are created equal, endowed by their Creator."
Biden was correct, however, in declaring that the principle that everyone has a God-given right to life is at stake in America today.
And Biden is one of the politicians putting it at stake.
On the night before he spoke in the South Carolina church, Biden spoke at a dinner in South Carolina, where he vowed to veto a federal ban on abortion and sign a bill to legalize it nationwide.
"I've made it clear: If the MAGA Republicans try to pass a national ban on abortion, I will veto it," he said. "And consider that a promise made, and a promise will be kept.
"And if you reelect me and Kamala with a Democratic House and a bigger majority in the Senate ... this November, imagine a future where we restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again," he said.
"A promise made," said Biden, "and a promise will be kept."
This repeated a pledge that Biden had made in a speech in Manassas, Virginia, on Jan. 23.
"We need the protections of Roe v. Wade in every state," Biden said then, according to a White House transcript. "And we can do it."
"Give me a Democratic House of Representatives and give me ... a bigger Democratic Senate, and we will pass a new law restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade, and I will sign it immediately," said Biden.
When he spoke at the church in South Carolina on Sunday, Biden cited his Catholicism.
"I'm a practicing Catholic, and I used to go to 7:30 mass at St. Joe's," he said, according to the White House transcript.
"I'm not trying to be overly religious here, but I think the elements of our faith really matter as to what we believe, what -- what we do," said Biden.
"And, you know, as I said, the Bible teaches us that we shall know the truth, and the truth shall set us free. And we got to focus on it. We got to focus on it," he said.
After Biden pledged in Manassas to sign a law codifying Roe v. Wade nationwide, Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Arlington Diocese -- which includes Manassas -- issued a statement condemning Biden's position on abortion.
"President Biden has made abortion the centerpiece of his campaign," said Bishop Burbidge. "At a rally in Manassas, VA, he advocated for codifying Roe v. Wade into law. It is incredibly devastating to know President Biden would place 'choice' over his sacred duty to protect life."
"Women who are facing unexpected or difficult pregnancies deserve assistance that affirms and supports life -- not destroy it," said the bishop.
At his Sunday speech in South Carolina, Biden declared that "we do know the truth" and the "truth shall set us free."
So, what is the truth about an unborn child?
As this column has noted before, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has a page on its website that cites scientific sources on the question of when human life begins. One of these is Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, which plainly states: "At the moment the sperm cell of the human male meets the ovum of the female and the union results in a fertilized ovum (zygote), a new life has begun."
By calling for a federal law that would codify Roe v. Wade, President Biden is calling for a federal law that would violate one of the God-given rights cited in our Declaration of Independence: the right to life.
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