The reason for her non-answer is very simple. There is no moral difference between the baby born alive at 23 weeks and a baby of the same age that is killed just moments before birth. But she can’t admit that in public. Why? Because for her to recognize the humanity of the unborn at any stage of development puts abortion rights at risk.

 
John McCormack is reporting at The Weekly Standard about a question about abortion that he recently posed to Rep. Nancy Pelosi. It was very simple:

So the question I have for you is what is the moral difference between what Dr. Gosnell did to a baby born alive at 23 weeks and aborting her moments before birth?

You can watch her response and the exchange that follows here. The most telling thing about Pelosi’s answer is that she never answers his question. She chides him for asking the question, and she lashes out when he follows-up with her. She has a great deal of bluster, but no answer to his question.

The reason for her non-answer is very simple. There is no moral difference between the baby born alive at 23 weeks and a baby of the same age that is killed just moments before birth. But she can’t admit that in public. Why? Because for her to recognize the humanity of the unborn at any stage of development puts abortion rights at risk. Roe v. Wade has presided over the deaths of over 50 million babies since 1973, and Pelosi won’t do anything to jeopardize the right of a woman to have her baby killed at any stage of development. Roe v. Wade makes it legal to kill these babies up and until birth, and she doesn’t want that to change.

The vast majority of Americans disagree with Pelosi on this. But Pelosi says that this is “sacred ground,” and she won’t even discuss it.

My view is that no reporter should allow any politician to hold forth on abortion who cannot answer that simple question.

Denny Burk is Associate Professor of New Testament and Dean of Boyce College, the undergraduate arm of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminar. He blogs on matters concerning politics, theology and culture. This article is used with his permission.