Presidential candidates Senator John McCain and Senator Barack Obama have vastly differing views on the Life issues, and particularly on abortion. Senator McCain has consistently opposed abortion, dating back to the beginning of his career in the Senate. Obama, according to NARAL Pro-Choice America, has achieved a perfect voting record for 2005-2007. Furthermore, Obama’s position surpasses even the pro-choice position, wherein one personally opposes abortion yet supports individual rights to choose that action; Obama is pro-abortion, meaning he unapologetically supports unmitigated and unrestricted abortion for all girls and women in any circumstance and espouses government funding for the abortion and family planning industries. Although no candidate is perfect, McCain is clearly the candidate who will move the Pro-Life movement forward.
The Presidential Candidates on Abortion
John McCain
Abortion: Voted to oppose Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that allows abortion for any reason.
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban: “Today’s Supreme Court ruling [in Gonzales v. Carhart]is a victory for those who cherish the sanctity of life.”
Taxpayer Funding of Abortion: Voted in favor of the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer funding of abortion through the Medicaid program.
Parental Notification: Voted to support a bill that would have required an abortionist to notify at least one parent before performing an abortion on a minor girl from another state.
Protecting Abortion Survivors: Voted for legislation that provides protection for babies who survive abortions equal to protection received by babies who are spontaneously born prematurely.
Barack Obama
Abortion: “I have consistently advocated for reproductive choice and will make preserving women’s rights under Roe v. Wade a priority as President.”
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban: “I am extremely concerned that [Gonzales v. Carhart] will embolden state legislatures to enact further measures to restrict a woman’s right to choose, and that the conservative Supreme Court justices will look for other opportunities to erode Roe v. Wade.”
Taxpayer Funding of Abortion: His campaign has stated that he “does not support” the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer funding of abortion through the Medicaid program.
Parental Notification: Voted to block a bill that would have required an abortionist to notify at least one parent before performing an abortion on a minor girl from another state.
Protecting Abortion Survivors: Voted three times against a bill in the Illinois State Senate that would have provided protection for babies who survive abortions equal to protection received by babies who are spontaneously born prematurely.
While Senator McCain, at one point, voted in favor of embryonic stem cell research, he has since heralded the breakthroughs in adult stem cell research and thinks government resources would be more effectively allocated to this less controversial avenue.
Our country was based upon the principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Life, as the first and foremost right, is certainly necessary for one to enjoy any other rights. As the most basic and most essential of rights, life must be vigorously and arduously defended.
During all elections, education about the candidates’ pro-abortion or Pro-Life position is vital. Citizens have a moral responsibility to cast an informed vote because the leaders chosen will make decisions regarding the futures of many of our fellow citizens. Whether voting on Planned Parenthood’s budget, a bill such as the Women’s Right to Know Act, zoning requirements for abortion clinics, or healthcare reform, our political leaders affect our culture and our lives.
”Once or twice in a century an issue arises…so far-reaching in its consequences, and so deep in its foundations, that it calls every person to take a stand.”
–John Noonan, former law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and current U.S. Court of Appeals Judge