Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 22, 2024 / 15:35 pm (CNA).
President Joe Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom — the highest civilian honor in the country — to Cecile Richards, an abortion activist who was the president of Planned Parenthood for more than a decade.
Although the Medal of Freedom is often awarded in a public ceremony, the president gave the medal to Richards in a private ceremony on Wednesday, Nov. 20. This is the 37th person to whom Biden awarded the Medal of Freedom but the first who is known primarily for abortion advocacy.
“With absolute courage, [Richards] fearlessly leads us forward to be the America we say we are — a nation of freedom,” Biden, the second Catholic president in American history, said in a post on X late Wednesday afternoon.
“Through her work to lift up the dignity of workers, defend and advance women’s reproductive rights and equality, and mobilize Americans to exercise their power to vote, she has carved an inspiring legacy,” Biden added.
Richards reposted the president’s remarks on her X account, thanking Biden and First Lady Jill Biden for “all you’ve done to support women’s health and rights.”
“Such an honor representing abortion rights and the need for health care for all,” Richards said.
Richards was the president of Planned Parenthood from February 2006 until she stepped down in April 2018. The number of abortions performed by Planned Parenthood increased by more than 10% during her tenure. In 2006, the organization performed 289,750 abortions but increased that number to 321,384 abortions in 2016.
Planned Parenthood abortionists completed about 320,000 abortions each year during her time as president, which amounts to more than 3 million abortions under her leadership.
According to the White House, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is reserved for people “who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public, or private endeavors.”
Earlier this year, Richards announced that she was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer — the same type of cancer that claimed the life of Biden’s son Beau in 2015.
Biden’s views on abortion have shifted during his career. The president began serving his first term in the Senate in 1973, just days before the United States Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade, which made abortion legal nationwide. At the time, Biden criticized the decision. He gradually moved toward a staunch pro-abortion stance over the next 50 years in politics.
When Roe v. Wade was overturned during his presidency in June 2022, Biden vowed to codify a national right to abortion into federal law and supported ending the prohibition on federal tax money directly paying for abortion.
During his presidency, the Biden administration sought to scale back religious freedom protections in abortion laws and moved to expand surgical abortion through the Department of Health and Human Services and chemical abortion through federal regulations. Other policies included funding for overseas organizations that promote abortion and a policy at the U.S. Department of Defense to fund abortion travel costs for service members and their families.
President-elect Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated president on Jan. 20, 2025, opposes federal restrictions on abortion, and he supports leaving abortion law to the states. He has vowed to protect religious freedom and is open to reenacting the federal ban on overseas abortion funding.
On Wednesday, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, who will lead the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), penned an op-ed with the Wall Street Journal, which stated they will recommend ending federal funds for Planned Parenthood.
Biden’s support for abortion has put him at odds with Catholic bishops and the pope on the issue of life.
In April, Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, D.C., appeared on CBS’ “Face the Nation” and said that Biden “picks and chooses dimensions of the faith to highlight while ignoring or even contradicting other parts … especially in terms of the life issues.”
“There is a phrase that we have used in the past, a ‘cafeteria Catholic,’ [in which] you choose that which is attractive and dismiss that which is challenging,” Gregory said.
Bishop Thomas Paprocki of the Diocese of Springfield, Illinois, accused Biden of “making a mockery of our Catholic faith” in May after the president made the sign of the cross while promoting abortion.
In 2022, Pope Francis said Biden should “talk to his pastor about that incoherence” when talking about Biden supporting abortion even though he is a Catholic.
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And while our bishops lecture us about the need to welcome those who have illegally entered the nation, they will say absolutely nothing about this vile “catholic” president who celebrates the slaughter of innocents merely trying to enter the world. It is not difficult to abide an evil secular leader. It is soul-crushing to be subject to an entire conference of evil shepherds of the Church.
“It is soul-crushing to be subject to an entire conference of evil shepherds of the Church.” In union with our anti-Apostolic pope & his coterie . . .
Take heart, dear Timothy J. Williams, for as this evil virus spreads through our Church, is it not revealing those who are made immune by their faithfulness to the teachings of The LORD Jesus Christ and His Apostles and to the Catechism of the Catholic Church? How blessed are these little immune ones . . .
This evidences to the process described by Matthew 14:47-50, where Jesus teaches us that all the fish caught in a dragnet (all gathered by the Church) still must be sorted by Christ’s Holy Angels, into right-ethical and wrong-ethical.
It’s logical: rebels must be permanently disposed of so as to enable the obedient to live peacefully with GOD.
Only those who truly fear GOD accept this teaching.
It looks like Pope Francis and his coterie, Biden, Pelosi, and almost all of our cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests, sisters, & lay leaders simply do not comprehend the Majesty of GOD & His Commands. They seem to have long-ago forgotten what the fear of the LORD is. They have no immunity to the disobedience virus . . .
By all means, dear TJW, let’s pray for their repentance & restoration to The Gospel.
But, let’s never feel crushed by their choice of eternal rejection by GOD.
They perfectly exemplify to us the reality of Christ’s cautionary teachings . . !
Always seeking to hear & lovingly follow King Jesus Christ; blessings from marty
That’s just demonic. Pure evil. Tragic.
America has sponsored and celebrated more than a BILLION babies slaughtered around the world over the past half century.
The Ayatollah’s were right.
America is the great satan.
What a great presidency. This is horrible. Whom do we follow? Where is the Pope who reads the Bible?
I wonder if Cardinals McElroy, Tobin and Cupich sent her a letter of congratulations.
Sharing in this reprehensible act are all those Catholics who voted for Biden.
And the Catholic in Chief who praised him as a good Catholic. But then Francis has praised abortionists and abortion advocates directly.
Sad? Yes.
Surprising? No.
And he will be given Holy Communion on Sunday.
Blasphemous and disgraceful.
I could not agree more with God’s Fool and Timothy Williams posting above. And will add, in the meantime we have a Pope who is shutting down Bishops who disagree with him and forbidding traditional Catholic Latin Masse, while staying completely silent on the supposed CATHOLICS who are as they are, Pelosi, Biden et al
How awful! For the sake of charity, I’m going to attribute this horrific decision to President Biden’s deteriorating mental state. I think it’s possible that his wife talked him into it–I’m hoping that if he were totally sound in mind, he would have told her that there are other Americans much more deserving of the honor. But I also think there are a lot of Catholics who are pro-“choice”.
I believe Mr Biden has suffered a decline in health but not to the point he’s completely unawares. But I would agree that he may be more vulnerable now to influence from others.
SERIOUSLY!! This man’s heart is so immorally corrupted that I’m sure he knows what he is doing! I do hope I’m wrong, but I doubt that BIG TIME!!
it’s basically a reversal from his previous stance which is on internet
this is the unbearable we’ve been putting up with Whitmer and Harris
Don’t defend the indefensible, it’s not appropriate. There is no justifiable reason to give Biden any benefit of the doubt here. He made this decision intentionally, and it is consistent with the moral degeneracy he has demonstrated throughout his presidency.
It is no surprise that on its way out, the current regime, which has intentionally brought the world to the precipice of a nuclear Holocaust by provoking Russia, praises representatives of the organization responsible for more murders than any other in the history of the world.
“The fruit of abortion is nuclear war.”
President Biden needs to make an Irish exit ASAP before he thinks up any more parting gifts.
What a travesty.
What is the proper Catholic response to a person who has fought for the “right “ to kill babies and a Church Hierarchy that has no response or a lame response. If there are any in the Hierarchy out there, I want them to know that there are 60, 70, and 80 year old people going to prison to defend babies. Can you imagine the amazing response if one of you had that kind of courage and leadership?
CNA: Meet the pro-life prisoners whom Trump is expected to pardon
By Tyler Arnold
Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 21, 2024 / 14:05 pm
The article begins:
More than a dozen pro-life activists are still in prison or awaiting sentences on federal charges brought by President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) for protests at abortion clinics — but President-elect Donald Trump has signaled he will likely grant them presidential pardons.
It seems to me Biden just made the pardons — if Trump follows through — more justified. Who could complain? Justifiably.
The question is, why do they refuse to defend The Word Of God Incarnate. Surely it must be that they no longer believe.
What is the proper response you ask?
Start by refusing him Holy Communion – REFUSE to give him the wafer. If he wants to make a big deal out of it – be ready, but do NOT let him have it.
He and his vile “wife”are either totally stupid or they’re totally reckless about their salvation. STUPID AND EMPTY OF ANY COMPASSION FOR THE VULNERABLE!!! OR DOES HE BELIEVE THAT GOD IS GOOD AND ALL GO TO HEAVEN?
The Medal of Freedom can’t be taken seriously, no matter who the recipient is, as long as it decided by one person. It’s one person’s opinion. A president can give it to whoever he wants to, but that doesn’t mean the rest of should regard it as anything but a joke.
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr has lived his life pursuing eternal damnation and that is likely the verdict that will be rendered during his particular judgment along with all those who have enabled his behavior during his 82+ year journey. Insanity may be the only mitigating factor when his just reward is rendered. Repent while you still can, Joseph.
The only good news associated with this story is that Mr. Biden will soon be out of office, in which state he will be able to do less harm in the future.
“…the always give themselves awards…” — Rush Limbaugh [RIP]