Sunday, August 17, 2008
Obama on the Born-Alive Act [Yuval Levin]
The clip mentioned below is pretty striking. If they’re going to argue this, the Obama folks will need to offer some facts and documents, because as it stands now the only way I can read the evidence uncovered by the National Right to Life Committee compared to the assertion made by Obama in that interview is that Obama is not telling the truth. He had a chance to vote on a bill that dealt with the larger Roe v. Wade issue in exactly—verbatim—the same way as the federal bill (which Obama now claims he would have supported), and he voted against it in committee and killed it. The NRLC’s evidence seems pretty clear. If Obama wants to argue it’s “a lie,” he’ll need to prove it.
The Corner on National Review Online
And while we're on the subject of Obama's views on Baby's Rights vs Abortion
let's look at his statement's at Saddleback Church the other evening.
WARREN: That was a freebie. That was a gimme. That was a gimme, OK? Now, let’s deal with abortion; 40 million abortions since Roe v. Wade. As a pastor, I have to deal with this all of the time, all of the pain and all of the conflicts. I know this is a very complex issue. Forty million abortions, at what point does a baby get human rights, in your view?
OBAMA: Well, you know, I think that whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade.
WARREN: Have you –
The decision to allow abortion is apparently not above his pay grade. The question and answer is somewhat the same as asking when will any particular human being die of man made or natural causes. And Obama's response would be 100% spot on in that context. It is above his pay grade. Only God can know when a person will die. However, what we assume in the case of babies is quite different than what we assume in the case of adults.
Where adults are concerned, because we can't know their moment of death ahead of time...the moment their rights as human beings stop...we legally safeguard their life.
But when it comes to babies, because we can't know the moment their rights as humans begin we declare them fair game.
OBAMA: But let me just speak more generally about the issue of abortion, because this is something obviously the country wrestles with. One thing that I’m absolutely convinced of is that there is a moral and ethical element to this issue. And so I think anybody who tries to deny the moral difficulties and gravity of the abortion issue, I think, is not paying attention. So that would be point number one.
When I was reading this text the first time I initially thought he was stalling or trying to make points with the evangelical crowd in attendance. But then I thought about it some more and I realized that there may be some people who really do not recognize the moral and ethical aspects of abortion. I am regularly astounded not only by the
numbers of people who don't get this, but by the fact that they exist at all.
OBAMA: But point number two, I am pro-choice. I believe in Roe v. Wade, and I come to that conclusion not because I’m pro-abortion, but because, ultimately, I don’t think women make these decisions casually. I think they — they wrestle with these things in profound ways, in consultation with their pastors or their spouses or their doctors or their family members.
This is a key statement. Just as a criminal might not casually consider their legal defense and may consult lawyers and spouses and family members, the emphasis is here should not how seriously they consider their choices AFTER the pivotal event but how little thought and responsibility and good judgment was part of the decisions they made BEFORE the crime or before the act of conception.
Women are not acting responsibly at the time of sexual intercourse and that failure to exercise good judgment helps contribute, mightily, to the need to make these weighty decisions after they have made their mistake.
Luckily, women can kill their mistakes in judgment. :roll: A man does not have that
right.
OBAMA:And so, for me, the goal right now should be — and this is where I think we can find common ground. And by the way, I’ve now inserted this into the Democratic party platform, is how do we reduce the number of abortions? The fact is that although we have had a president who is opposed to abortion over the last eight years, abortions have not gone down and that is something we have to address.
Good.
WARREN: Have you ever voted to limit or reduce abortions?
OBAMA: I am in favor, for example, of limits on late-term abortions, if there is an exception for the mother’s health. From the perspective of those who are pro-life, I think they would consider that inadequate, and I respect their views. One of the things that I’ve always said is that on this particular issue, if you believe that life begins at conception, then — and you are consistent in that belief, then I can’t argue with you on that, because that is a core issue of faith for you.
The religious aren't the only ones who believe life starts at conception.
OBAMA: What I can do is say, are there ways that we can work together to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, so that we actually are reducing the sense that women are seeking out abortions. And as an example of that, one of the things that I’ve talked about is how do we provide the resources that allow women to make the choice to keep a child. You know,
have we given them the health care that they need?
Have we given them the support services that they need?
Have we given them the options of adoption that are necessary? That can make a genuine difference.
WARREN: There’s a lot more I’d like to ask on that. We have 15 other questions here. [/SIZE]
Full Transcript: Saddleback Presidential Forum, Sen. Barack Obama, John McCain; Moderated by Rick Warren : Clips & Comment
"Have we given them?" "Have we given them?" "Have we given them?" This attitude is that the government knows what's best for us and is the Big Daddy. The nanny state. Haven't we learned the hazards of creating and expanding entitlement programs? :doh