President Joe Biden was torched by conservatives and Christians this week when he defended abortion and railed against attempts to thwart it, in part, by noting he is a “child of God.”
The Rev. Franklin Graham was among those who took issue with Biden’s comments, with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association president calling abortion a “sin” and likening it to “murder.”
“Biden said that the right to an abortion comes from being a ‘child of God.’ Mr. President, that is just not true,” Graham tweeted. “Being a child of God does not give you the right to take the lives of the innocent. Abortion is a sin— simply put, it‘s murder.”
Yesterday @POTUS Biden said that the right to an abortion comes from being a “child of God.” Mr. President, that is just not true. Being a child of God does not give you the right to take the lives of the innocent. Abortion is a sin—simply put, it‘s murder.https://t.co/T9TUO5D0DC
— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) May 5, 2022
Biden made his controversial remarks Wednesday while lambasting a draft Supreme Court opinion indicating the justices could overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that ushered in nationalized abortion protections.
“As I said when this hit…this is about a lot more than abortion,” the president said. “I hadn’t read the whole opinion at that time.”
Biden then spoke about the origination of rights, stating such liberties don’t come from the government but originate as a result of being a “child of God.” He referred to a past debate with the late Robert Bork, a judge whose nomination to the Supreme Court was rejected, to make his point.
“This reminds me of the debate I had with Robert Bork. Bork believed the only reason you had any inherent rights is because the government gave them to you,” Biden claimed. “I said, ‘I believe I have the rights that I have not because the government gave them to me, which you believe, but because I’m just a child of God, I exist.'”
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He then pivoted to decry the notion that there is “no right to privacy” and launched into wild speculation about what could happen next if the Supreme Court does, indeed, overturn Roe.
“What happens if you have [a state change] the law saying that children who are LGBTQ can’t be in classrooms with other children. Is that legit under the way the decision’s written?” Biden asked. “What are the next things that are going to be attacked because this MAGA crowd is really the most extreme political organization that’s existed in history, in recent American history.”
Biden’s comments drew rebuke on a variety of fronts. From his insult of former President Donald Trump supporters to his pondering about LGBTQ issues, reactions were swift.
Biden literally just made the case against abortion. https://t.co/1z0jo2yYow
— Beth Baumann (@eb454) May 4, 2022
But it was the “child of God” comment that triggered some of the most stunned reactions. Political fundraiser Beth Baumann joined Graham and others in their rebuke, tweeting, “Biden literally just made the case against abortion.”
Her point, of course, is that Biden is using language about human value — the same language pro-lifers use to explain why killing unborn babies — made in God’s image — is immoral.
Others, like Twitter user @Bergfeld24, noted Biden’s oft-times heralded Catholic faith and pondered how it mixed with these comments about abortion.
“Invoking God to justify your reason for supporting abortion seems a little off to me,” @Bergfeld24 wrote. “Especially when Biden claims to be a Catholic and the Catholic faith believes life begins at conception.”
As Faithwire previously reported, Biden drew similar ire of conservatives and Christians last month, when he said transgender people are “made in the image of God” and proclaimed one of the best ways parents can keep transgender children “safe and healthy” is to affirm their “child’s identity.”
“To parents of transgender children, affirming your child’s identity is one of the most powerful things you can do to keep them safe and healthy,” Biden said in an official White House video.
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