4 Reasons Kamala Harris' Selection for VP Concerns Christian Leaders

4 Reasons Kamala Harris' Selection for VP Concerns Christian Leaders

Joe Biden called Kamala Harris a “fearless fighter for the little guy” and “one of the country’s finest public servants” when he announced her as his pick for vice president Tuesday.

Many Christian leaders and social conservatives, though, say Harris’ record on social conservative issues represents the left-wing of the Democratic Party.

“Kamala Harris is the poster child for the extreme pro-abortion position of the Democratic Party,” National Right to Life said in a statement.

R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said Harris consistently has chosen “the sexual revolution over religious liberty.”

Lila Rose, a Catholic and the president of Live Action, said Harris “prosecuted pro-life journalists when they dared investigate” Planned Parenthood’s “selling of baby parts.”

“She supports killing babies up until birth,” Rose tweeted.

Here are four reasons the selection of Harris by Biden troubles Christian and social conservative leaders:

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Kamala Harris

1. Her Positions on Abortion

Harris has a 0 percent pro-life voting record according to National Right to Life and a 100 percent pro-choice voting record according to NARAL Pro-Choice America. Harris supports taxpayer funding of abortion and, in February, voted to block a bill in the Senate that would have required medical care for babies who survive abortion.

Last year during a debate, she pledged as president to use the Justice Department to block state-level pro-life laws.

“For any state that passes a law that violates the Constitution, and in particular Roe v. Wade, our Department of Justice will review that law to determine if it is compliant with Roe v. Wade and the Constitution, and if it is not, that law will not go into effect,” Harris said last year. “That's called pre-clearance.”

As attorney general of California, Harris sided with Planned Parenthood when undercover videos showed Planned Parenthood employees discussing fees for tissue and organs from aborted babies.

Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, said Biden “could not have picked a more extreme pro-abortion running mate.”

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Kamala Harris and Joe Biden

2. Her 2018 Criticism of a Catholic Group

In 2018, Harris asked federal judge nominee Brian Buescher a series of written questions about his involvement in the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal organization. The questions implied that his membership disqualified him from a seat on the court.

“Since 1993, you have been a member of the Knights of Columbus, an all-male society comprised primarily of Catholic men,” Harris wrote. “In 2016, Carl Anderson, leader of the Knights of Columbus, described abortion as ‘a legal regime that has resulted in more than 40 million deaths.’ Mr. Anderson went on to say that ‘abortion is the killing of the innocent on a massive scale.’

“Were you aware that the Knights of Columbus opposed a woman’s right to choose when you joined the organization? Do you agree with Mr. Anderson that abortion is ‘the killing of the innocent on a massive scale’? Do you agree with Mr. Anderson that legal abortion in the United States has ‘resulted in more than 40 million deaths’?”

Harris also asked Buescher if he was “aware that the Knights of Columbus opposed marriage equality when [he] joined the organization.”

Buescher was confirmed by the Senate, 51-40.

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Kamala Harris, What your place in the world says about your view of the world

3. Her Refusal to Defend Proposition 8

As California attorney general, Harris refused to defend a state constitutional amendment known as Proposition 8 that defined marriage as between a man and woman. She also submitted briefs in court opposing it.

Her position sparked a debate over whether attorney generals can refuse to defend the state constitution.

“It’s well within the authority vested in me as the elected attorney general to use the discretion of my office to make decisions about how we will use our resources and what issue we will weigh in on or not,” she said.

In 2013, when the issue was before the U.S. Supreme Court, Harris said, “I declined to defend Proposition 8 because it violates the Constitution. The Supreme Court has described marriage as a fundamental right 14 times since 1888. The time has come for this right to be afforded to every citizen.”

California voters approved Prop 8 in 2008 by a margin of 52-48 percent.

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Kamala Harris

4. Her Support of Transgender Athletes in Women’s Sports​​​​​

Harris is co-sponsor of the Equality Act, an LGBT-focused bill that opponents and even some bill supporters say would force public schools to allow transgender athletes to compete in the sport of their preferred gender. That means biological boys who identify as girls would be allowed to play on girls’ teams. In Connecticut, two biological boys won 15 track state titles.

Last year, three well-known female athletes – Doriane Coleman, Martina Navratilova and Sanya Richards-Ross – penned an editorial in the Washington Post saying they support most of the Equality Act but believe it would severely harm women’s sports.

“Some Equality Act advocates argue that this is hyperbole and outdated stereotype,” the three women wrote. “They say, as the ACLU has, that there is ‘ample evidence that girls can compete and win against boys.’ They are wrong. The evidence is unequivocal that starting in puberty, in every sport except sailing, shooting and riding, there will always be significant numbers of boys and men who would beat the best girls and women in head-to-head competition. Claims to the contrary are simply a denial of science.”

The women noted that Team USA female sprinter Allyson Felix – who has won multiple world championships – has a lifetime best of 49.26 seconds in the 400 meters. But in 2018, 275 high school boys ran faster on 783 occasions.

“The sex differential isn’t the result of boys and men having a male gender identity, more resources, better training or superior discipline. It’s because they have androgenized bodies,” they wrote.

Related:

Kamala Harris Is the 'Most Pro-Abortion of Pro-Abortion Politicians,' Nat'l Right to Life Says

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Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chroniclethe Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

4 Reasons Kamala Harris' Selection for VP Concerns Christian Leaders