The Palin Family: Living Pro-Life by Example

Many Evangelical voters (me included) were electrified on Friday when news broke about newly selected Republican Vice Presidential nominee Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska due to her strong pro-life stance and openly professed Christian faith.

Today Governor Palin and her family have announced that Bristol Palin, their 17 year-old daughter, is pregnant and intends to both keep the baby and to marry the father of her child. Fortunately for both the daughter and the soon to come grandchild, the attitude of the Palin family is vastly different from that of Senator Obama as expressed in the quote shown above.

"We have been blessed with five wonderful children who we love with all our heart and mean everything to us," said Sarah and Todd Palin in a statement. "Our beautiful daughter Bristol came to us with news that as parents we knew would make her grow up faster than we had ever planned. We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby and even prouder to become grandparents. As Bristol faces the responsibilities of adulthood, she knows she has our unconditional love and support."

The Palins asked the news media to respect the young couple’s privacy. However, some liberal bloggers are celebrating, thinking this news will distress evangelical voters and hurt the Republican campaign. They just don’t know us very well, do they. As Dr. Richard Lamb of the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission said:

"This is the pro-life choice. The fact that people will criticize her for this shows the astounding extent to which the secular critics of the pro-life movement just don't get it. Those who criticize the Palin family don't understand that we don't see babies as a punishment but as a blessing. Barack Obama said that if one of his daughters made a mistake and got pregnant out of wedlock he wouldn't want her to be punished with a child. Pro lifers don't see a child as punishment."

Senator Obama is to be commended for his official statement. He said exactly the right thing.

“Let me be a clear as possible: I have said before and I will repeat again, I think people’s families are off limits,” Obama said, “and people’s children are especially off limits. “This shouldn’t be part of our politics…it has no relevance to Gov. Palin’s performance as governor, or her potential performance as a vice president."

“And so I would strongly urge people to back off these kinds of stories,” he said. “You know my mother had me when she was 18, and how a family deals with issues and, you know, teenage children, that shouldn’t be the topic of our politics and I hope that anybody who is supporting me understands that’s off limits.”

Well said, Senator. However, as Erik Erickson at Redstate said, with reference to the Senator's comment at Saddleback about the question of the beginning of life being "above his pay grade":

“The question "when does life begin" is apparently not above Sarah Palin's pay grade. She's willing to and has confronted the tough choice.

Obama either took a pass or voted present.”

Hat Tip: The Anchoress,