At a recent town hall, pro-life Democrat Kristen Day asked presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg if he and his party would be more inclusive of pro-life Democrats. “Do you want the support of ... pro-life Democratic voters?” she asked. “There are about 21 million of us. And if so, would you support more moderate platform language in the Democratic party to ensure that the party of diversity, of inclusion, really does include everybody?”

Buttigieg shot that idea right down in the kind of backhanded way a presidential candidate will do. After being pressed by moderator Chris Wallace and again by Day with a second attempt at an answer, Buttigieg made it clear there's no place in his party for pro-life voters.

Some were outraged that Buttigieg took such a hard line. But why shouldn’t he? His position is clear: Democrats are pro-choice, and those who don't agree aren't welcome. I see nothing wrong with Buttigieg's response — he was simply telling the awful truth.

The quandary for Day and others like her is that she's Catholic, which puts her in the unfortunate position of having to choose between what she believes is the lesser of two evils. In a 2015 interview, Day was asked how pro-life Democrats "fit into" a party that supports abortion. This was her answer: "Yes, the Democratic Party fails on this most important protection to the dignity of the unborn, but their policies to address income inequality and support for new mothers ... could result in a lower abortion rate because families will have the means to provide housing, nutrition, and a safe environment to raise the child."

Day is not alone in her worldview. Roughly half of all Catholics vote Democrat.

The question is why. It's been decades since opposition to abortion became the litmus test for Democratic support. Democrats prefer to call abortion "reproductive rights" to make the tragedy sound more palatable, but a pig dressed as a princess is still a pig. Catholicism's entire platform, meanwhile, is built on the sanctity of life. What gives?

For the record, I'm not Catholic. However, I've been steeped in Catholicism my entire life. My mother's family is Catholic. My husband and his (mother's side of the) family are Catholic, and our kids are Catholic. I even went to Catholic school, as did my husband, our kids, and pretty much all of our friends. We all vote Republican, but Catholics are evenly split between the two major parties, so there are plenty of Catholic Democrats in our neck of the woods.

But to be Catholic and vote Democrat in 2020 is both disingenuous and naive. Day's justification is that she believes Democratic policies will make poor people less poor, and therein lies the rub. You see, Catholics' other signature issue is poverty, and half of Catholics believe Democrats are the party that cares about the poor. That means this group is stuck between a rock (supporting people who support killing babies) and a hard place (the desire to end poverty). In the end, they sacrifice their principles on the sanctity of life for the sake of the poor.

In the end, Catholics get neither of their interests met. Far from lifting up the poor and downtrodden, Democratic policies hurt those they claim to help. Moreover, Arthur Brooks demonstrated conclusively in his book Who Really Cares that conservatives are far more compassionate than liberals. Strong families, church attendance, earned income (as opposed to state-subsidized income), and the belief that individuals, not governments, offer the best solution to social ills are all factors that determine how likely one is to give.

"Numerous studies have demonstrated that a dollar in government spending on nonprofit activities displaces up to 50 cents in private giving,” writes Brooks. The “highest level of crowding out occurs in assistance to the poor and other kinds of social welfare services.” And guess who in the private sector does the most for the poor? Catholics. So one could argue that voting Democrat in fact undermines their work.

I'm also convinced Catholics don't realize what a dominant force feminism is the Democratic Party. No single group in this country is less devoted to, or even interested in, marriage and motherhood than feminists. Yet Mary, mother of God, is another significant force in the Catholic church. A good Catholic recognizes the invaluable role mothers play in our society, and Democrats pull out all the stops to get mothers out of the home and into the workforce. Why would you get behind that if you're Catholic?

The question worth asking isn't whether or not Buttigieg's party will welcome pro-life voters who think like Day. A better question is, "Why is any Catholic still voting for Democrats?"

Suzanne Venker (@SuzanneVenker) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. She is an author, columnist, and radio host. Her newest book, WOMEN WHO WIN at Love: How to Build a Relationship That Lasts, was published in October 2019. Suzanne’s website is www.suzannevenker.com.