In New York State’s 24th congressional district, a controversy is quickly expanding into a firestorm over the refusal of Democratic congressional candidate Michael Arcuri to tell voters where he stands on the issue of abortion.

The Arcuri for Congress campaign deleted questions about abortion on its discussion board, then deleted the entire discussion board when voters would not stop asking questions Arcuri about the issue. Michael Arcuri never answered a single one of those questions. Now, the Democrats of New York’s 24th district are left asking themselves: WHY?

New York Liberal has launched its own Arcuri for Congress discussion forum in protest of the Arcuri for Congress campaign’s decision to delete its discussion board. At that open forum, a 24th district Democrat left the following message:

“Arcuri’s biography on his campaign website says he is an assistant varsity football coach at Notre Dame High School in Utica. That’s a Catholic school. It’s a no brainer they would dismiss him if he was publicly pro-choice. So he would need to both resign, change the bio and risk a huge controversy with his diocese if he comes out pro-choice. If he’s pro-life, then he’s not going to be in good shape with a huge constituency in the Democratic party.

Boehlert was pro-choice and won a dozen times. Arcuri has the traditional Catholic politician’s problem. Let’s see if he has Mario Cuomo’s courage or is unable to shake off Saint Thomas Aquinas’ views the better part of a millenium later.”

Not every Catholic is against choice. John Kerry proved that during the 2004 election. In fact, statistics show that Catholics get abortions at least as much as other Americans. So, this doesn’t have to be a Catholic issue.

It is a Michael Arcuri issue. Days have gone by now during which the Arcuri for Congress campaign is unable or unwilling to put its discussion forum online. The strong impression they are creating is that Mike Arcuri is afraid to talk about the abortion issue.

Is Michael Arcuri Pro-Choice, or is he not Pro-Choice?

The question is easy. Michael Arcuri is a lawyer. He knows what his opinion on the issue is. So, why won’t Arcuri tell 24th District voters what his position on abortion is?

This, of all years, with the South Dakota Republicans looking to overturn Roe v. Wade nationwide, the voters deserve an answer.