Dan Gilgoff over at U.S. News and World Report, draws attention to how President Obama’s nomination of Kathleen Sebelius for Health and Human Services Secretary has caused quite a stir in the Catholic community when it comes to the issue of abortion.

Moneyquote: “My Catholic faith teaches me that all life is sacred, and personally I believe abortion is wrong. However, I disagree with the suggestion that criminalizing women and their doctors is an effective means of achieving the goal of reducing the number of abortions in our nation.”

Those sentiments seem to reflect the wider pattern of traditional church teaching failing to have a powerful sway among nearly one in two U.S. Catholics on the abortion question. According to a Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life study cited by Gilgoff, 49 percent of American Catholics believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, while 47 percent of American Catholics believe that it should be illegal in all or most cases.

There seems to be a correlation between advocating abortion rights and church attendance. Among Catholics who attend church regularly, 57 percent of white Catholics are opposed to legalized abortion, and 27 percent say that it should be illegal in all cases.

For those Catholics who prefer playing hooky with Sunday morning Mass more often, 62 percent say abortion should be legal, while 35 percent say it shouldn’t be.

Photo credit: Paul Sancya/AP