Notre Dame’s 2009 class of graduates heard some moral calculus in President Obama’s address at their commencement. His words were, indeed, eloquent and often sounded so ‘fair-minded’, which he made his theme as he hit his stride.

Like when he said…

So let us work together to reduce the number of women seeking abortions…

Nobody could argue that we need to do that, and many fervently work to reduce it to zero. If something is a good, why try to reduce it? If it’s an evil, why not try to eliminate it, the reasoning goes. Some commentators pointed out that since abortion is the taking of human life, talk like this blurs the line between what’s right and wrong to do.

Family Research Council president Tony Perkins was on one of the news shows after Obama delivered the Notre Dame address. He applied that reasoning to Obama’s argument. “He talks about reducing the need for abortion. Wait a minute, that’s assuming there is a need for abortion. That’s like saying we’re going to reduce the need for child abuse.”

Good point.

“President Obama talks about having a civil discourse and debate,” said Perkins. “But he’s not being genuine. Look at his record. Don’t listen to his rhetoric.”

If he genuinely is having a conversion of heart over the right to conscience protection for health care workers opposed to abortion and the need to draft a clause to honor that right, let his record show that it was more than rhetoric.