FROM THE PRESIDENT; THE TWO JOHNS COME UP DOUBLE NULL.(John Kerry; John Edwards)

- "When I examine my conscience, I believe my conscience is where it ought to be within Catholic teaching, which also teaches about war, about the environment, about children, about poverty, about capital punishment and many other things," [John] Kerry saidE. "Vatican II is very clear. There is something called freedom of conscience in the Catholic Church. You have to examine your conscience," Kerry said. "I oppose abortion, personally. I don't like abortion. I believe life does begin at conception [emphasis added]. But I can't take my Catholic belief, my article of faith, and legislate it on a Protestant or a Jew or an atheistE who doesn't share it. We have separation of church and state in the United States of America."

--reported by Jeffrey Patch, Dubuque Herald Telegraph, 7/4/2004

- I did not know that Senator John F. Kerry believes life begins at conception. Now that I do know, I do not understand 20 years of [Kerry's] votes supporting a woman's right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy [emphasis added].

So Kerry's conscience is not at odds with church teaching, just with his voting record? E Conscience is a moral concept, as well as a religious one, after all. If you believe that life begins at conception, doesn't your conscience compel you to vote in concert with that belief? E

I wanted to ask Kerry more about this, but he was busy yesterday, trumpeting a vice presidential pick that NARAL Pro Choice America, the lobbying arm of the abortion rights movement, called "a dream ticket for a woman's right to choose."

Betsy Cavendish, interim president of NARAL Pro Choice America, was offended that I wanted to discuss Kerry's abortion comments on such "a great day." E [A]bortion supporters should be keeping our "eye on the prize, defeating Public enemy Number One, George Bush" [Cavendish said].

--"pro-choice" columnist Eileen McNamara, Boston Globe, 7/7/2004