John Koster, a Republican candidate for Congress in Washington State, believes what I do regarding the morality of abortion in cases of rape, that however tragic the situation, the intentional killing of the unborn child is not morally permissible. But, when he referred to "the rape thing," twice in one interview, failing to grasp and respect the grave harm women suffer when they are raped, when he fails to point out that the Church permits the use of emergency contraception in cases of rape, when he does not qualify his remarks by acknowledging the horror - and the frightening frequency - of rape, well, he does the pro-life cause more harm than good.
Koster is the third Republican candidate who dismissive comments regarding rape have harmed the pro-life cause they espouse. It is time to wonder if we in the pro-life movement would not benefit from some reflection about how to explain ourselves and whether or not it is a sound strategy to rely on politicians whose skills may not be up to the moral enormity of the issue.
