MANILA, Nov. 17, 2014—A Filipino Catholic priest believes the recent win of the Republican Party over much of the United States Congress is a “yes vote” to the pro-life cause in a country where four in ten pregnancies, according to the Guttmacher Institute, end in abortion.
Fr. Gregory Ramón D. Gaston, head of Rome’s Pontificio Collegio Filippino (Pontifical Filipino College), who is in the U.S. attending an annual gathering of Filipino clergy, told Church-run Radyo Veritas in an interview that the policies to be enacted by a Republican-majority legislature will vastly improve and affect American attitude towards important “life” issues, particularly abortion.
“In general, historically, the policies of the US Congress tended towards abortion. On the contrary, Republicans have always been associated with pro-life advocacies,” the priest noted.“Now, that they are on the majority, a shift in policies is likely forthcoming … Hopefully, the right to life will take centerstage,” he added.
A survey conducted by Gallup covering the years 2008 to 2011 has revealed that Republicans vehemently oppose abortion, while Democrats figure as “slightly less strongly pro-abortion”.(Raymond A. Sebastián)