The Democratic Party platform for 2012 “strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade,
endorses legal recognition of same-sex marriage, and regards the
promotion of “gay rights” as an American foreign-policy priority.
The program approved by the Democratic Party at this week’s convention
in Charlotte, North Carolina, no longer says that abortion should be
“rare,” as previous party platforms once said. In a blanket statement of
support for unrestricted legal abortion, the platform says: “We oppose
any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right.”
The platform adds that the option of abortion should be available to all
women “regardless of ability to pay,” underlining Democratic support
for taxpayer-financed abortions.
In a new bid for support from homosexual activists, the platform says:
“We support marriage equality and support the movement to secure equal
treatment under the law for same sex couples."
Regarding the rights of churches that refuse to acknowledge same-sex
marriage, the platform says: “We also support the freedom of churches
and religious entities to decide how to administer marriage as a
religious sacrament without government interference.” That sentence is
ambiguous, insofar as it says that religious institutions should be
allowed to decide “how” to celebrate marriages; the platform gives no
indication that they should remain free not to solemnize homosexual marriages.
The Democratic platform applauds the Obama administration’s decision to
treat same-sex relationships as “families” for purposes of immigration
policy, and to fund programs that finance gay-rights organizations
abroad through the State Department. The platform explains that “gay
rights are human rights.”
"President Obama and Democrats will continue to stand up to Republican
efforts to defund Planned Parenthood health centers,” the Democratic
platform proclaims. And: “President Obama and the Democratic Party are
committed to supporting family planning around the globe...”
