5 things to know about Joe Biden

By Samuel Smith, Deputy Managing Editor Thursday, March 12, 2020

Pope Francis (L) is greeted by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden as the pope arrives in the House Chamber prior to addressing a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, September 24, 2015. | (Photo: Reuters/Jonathan Ernst)

1. He's Catholic but supports abortion rights

Biden was raised in a Catholic family and attended Catholic schools as he grew up.

In his early years, Biden attended Holy Rosary in Claymont, Deleware and then an all-boys Catholic high school called Archmere Academy in Claymont, according to his 2008 book, Promises to Keep.

He has often been spotted wearing rosary beads around his wrist that were worn by his late son, Beau, after he died in 2015. Biden said in 2017 that wearing the rosary beads was a way for him to maintain a connection to his son.

Like many Catholic Democrats, Biden has faced the struggle of having to balance his political views with the Catholic Church’s teachings against abortion.

“My religion defines who I am. And I've been a practicing Catholic my whole life. And it has particularly informed my social doctrine,” Biden said in 2012.

“Catholic social doctrine talks about taking care of those who can't take care of themselves, people who need help. With regard to abortion, I accept my church's position that life begins at conception. That's the church's judgment. I accept it in my personal life. But I refuse to impose it on equally devout Christians and Muslims and Jews. I just refuse to impose that on others.”

Biden said at the time that he does not believe “we have a right to tell other people that women can’t control their body.”

His views on abortion have been labeled as “inconsistent” by some abortion rights proponents. Biden has for years been in favor of the Hyde Amendment, which bans tax dollars from being used to pay for or promote abortion.

Last June, an aide for Biden confirmed that the former vice president maintains his support for the Hyde Amendment. But days later, it was reported that he had reversed his support for the Hyde Amendment on grounds that some states are enacting laws to restrict access to abortion.

Biden said he couldn’t “justify leaving millions of women without access to the care they need.”

He later clarified his remarks, saying he would still support the Hyde Amendment if women of all incomes are allowed to access abortions. He denied claims that he changed his stance out of political expediency to be in line with other 2020 primary candidates who favored a repeal of the Hyde Amendment.

“The truth is, the majority of the American people agree with the Hyde Amendment, OK?" Biden told WHO-TV's Dave Price last June. "So the idea that this would be helpful to change is not accurate in terms of being able to win an election."

Because of his stance on abortion, he was denied communion at a Catholic church in South Carolina last October. The denial came after Biden tweeted his opposition to a proposal in South Carolina to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, including in the cases of rape and incest.