RE: “And in the bigger picture, the insinuation of government into ever more areas of life that should be the private preserve of individuals, families, congregations and communities is something that all conservatives should oppose.”
Yet the evidence of this thread is that many of the posters on this thread will welcome that as long as it offers them an opportunity to poke the Catholic Church in the eye. It really outs their actual agenda. Shows you how shallow they hold conservative values. Liberals at heart.
Many people believe that, if *something* is a good thing - Bible-reading, for example, or libraries - then it is appropriate for government to mandate the activity or compel its funding by the citizens. I do not agree. Even if I agree about the positive value of the *something*, I generally believe it should be conducted and funded voluntarily.
It is on this principle, I believe, that the line is drawn between “social conservatives” and “economic conservatives,” so called. A type of “social conservative,” just as a type of “social liberal,” believes that government should compel and/or fund what he believes is beneficial. The ... “other conservative,” perhaps, such as myself, believes that free citizens should pursue their own goods, in most cases, with their own resources.
An attempt is made to draw the line so that legal abortion is “economically conservative.” However, prohibiting abortion does not cost money, particularly, and it can easily (if not inarguably) be shown to benefit the economy. In addition, it is much more a function of government to prevent harm to individuals and to society than it is to compel “good.”