A reporter for the hard right Catholic TV network EWTN suggested President Joe Biden is failing in his call for unity because he has reaffirmed support for Roe v. Wade and rescinded the Republican foreign policy “gag rule” that bans the use of U.S. aid to NGOs for abortion referrals, counseling, or even the advocacy of decriminalizing abortion.
“President Biden has stated he wants to unite the country, and the first two weeks he’s been in office however, much to the great disappointment of pro-life Americans, he has revoked the Mexico City policy, he has ordered a review of Title X, and issued a statement strongly supporting Roe v. Wade,” Eternal Word Television Network’s Owen Jensen told White House press secretary Jen Psaki.
“Is the President going to make any effort to reach out to pro-life Americans in his administration?” he asked.
The Mexico City policy is a policy, not a law, and it has been in effect under GOP presidents and not under Democratic ones. Roe v. Wade is settled law. Title X is a family planning policy.
“Well, those have long been the President’s positions,” Psaki, trying to stay positive, replied, “and he certainly was just restating them and delivering on promises he made on the campaign trail,” she added, effectively reminding the reporter that Biden is indeed a Democrat.
“But the President will will reach out to all Americans. And that is how he’s going to govern what he talks about in his inaugural address, and he has every intention of delivering on that promise.”
Not satisfied, Jensen continued, saying that Biden is “described as a devout Catholic. Will he uses faith to guide in any policy decision making?”
Somewhat stunned, Psaki added that President Biden “does attend church, nearly every weekend, and that’s something that’s important to him personally and to his family, and he’s talked about the impact of his faith on healing and everything he’s been through, as a human being so certainly it’s a guide to him as a human being.”
Alabama-based EWTN claims to be “the largest religious media network in the world.”
In a 2020 Vanity Fair article titled, “Deep State, Deep Church: How QAnon and Trumpism Have Infected the Catholic Church,” EWTN was mentioned seven times.
Here’s Jensen’s Q&A with Psaki: