As
far as Catholics are concerned,
the definitive issue in this
election is abortion or conversely
the right to life. As far as
the candidates are concerned,
both for President and Vice-President,
their positions are crystal
clear. One is pro-abortion and
the other is pro-life. There
really is no choice for a Catholic.
Vote for life! Vote as a true
Catholic! Uphold Christ and
defeat the work of Satan.
God
bless.
frank
'Born
Alive' Brings Debate Alive
While
it was hardly a keystone of
the final presidential debate,
the life issue did make a brief-but
fiery-debut at the hands of
moderator Bob Schieffer. Though
Schieffer wrapped the abortion
question in the broader topic
of litmus tests for judges,
it quickly became a defining
moment of the night, drawing
sharp
contrasts between the candidates
on the fundamental issue of
life.
On
Roe v. Wade, Sen. Obama
defended his support for abortion-on-demand
by equating the "right"
to kill an unborn child with
our First Amendment rights,
saying that neither "should
be subject to popular vote."
In his response, Sen. McCain,
who said he was
"proudly pro-life,"
outlined how Obama
had "align[ed] [himself]
with the extreme aspect of the
pro-abortion movement in America."
He pointed to Obama's record
in the Illinois State Senate,
where, in the Judiciary Committee,
he voted against a law "that
would provide immediate medical
attention to a child born of
a failed abortion." McCain
went on, "Then there was
another bill... in the state
of Illinois... where [Obama]
voted against a ban on partial-birth
abortion... [They were] clear-cut
votes... in direct contradiction
to the feelings and views of
mainstream America."
Obama
claimed that he would never
vote to withhold protection
from an infant. However, records
from the Illinois State Senate
show that he did exactly that-not
once but four times. He also
said that at the time a law
similar to the Born-Alive Infants
Protection Act was already on
the books. Also false. According
to Jill Stanek, the pro-life
nurse who blew the whistle on
this neglect, there was no such
thing as across-the-board protection
for infants who survive an abortion.
Instead, the law protected only
those "survivors their
abortionist deems fit to live."
What's
more, Sen. Obama said last night
that he is "completely
supportive of a ban on late-term
abortions, partial-birth or
otherwise, as long as there's
an exception for the mother's
health." That statement
ignores the fact that the Supreme
Court has defined "health"
in the abortion context to include
such factors as "psychological"
and "financial" well-being,
that is, just about anything.
For more on Obama's abortion
views, check out Professor Robby
George's latest editorial at
www.thepublicdiscourse.com.
Additional Resources
Robert George: Obama's Abortion
Extremism
Obama,
McCain Spar on Abortion in Third
and Final Debate
"We have to change the
culture of America," said
McCain. "Those of us who
are proudly pro-life understand
that."
By
John Jalsevac
October
16, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com)
- In last night's third and
final presidential debate, Senators
John McCain and Barack Obama
locked horns over the issue
of abortion, with McCain
describing himself as "proudly
pro-life"
and Obama standing
by his extreme pro-abortion
record (See
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/oct/08101601.html
for a complete transcript of
McCain and Obama's remarks on
abortion).
During
the exchange Obama,
considered by many to be the
most pro-abortion presidential
candidate in history,
spent the majority of the time
on the defensive after McCain
repeatedly accused the Illinois
senator of falling on the "extreme"
side of the pro-abortion movement.
McCain
invoked Obama's unapologetic
support for partial birth abortion
and his opposition to the Illinois
Born Alive Infants Protection
Act (BAIPA) as proving his opponent's
"extreme" position,
a position that McCain said
alienates Obama from "mainstream"
America.
"I
don't know how you align yourself
with the extreme aspect of the
pro- abortion movement in America,"
McCain said, after criticizing
Obama for his opposition to
BAIPA, a bill that would have
mandated that medical care be
provided for infants born alive
after a failed abortion.
Later
McCain again accused Obama of
being "extreme," after
Obama attempted to justify his
opposition to a partial-birth
abortion ban, saying that he
opposed the ban over concerns
that it did not include an exception
for the "health" of
the mother.
"That's
the extreme pro-abortion position,
quote 'health'," countered
McCain, observing that the term
"health" has "been
stretched by the pro-abortion
movement in America to mean
almost anything."
Last
night's exchange was the only
time in the three presidential
debates that the topic of abortion
was discussed by the candidates.
The
subject arose when debate moderator
Bob Schieffer, after observing
that McCain has repeatedly expressed
his disapproval of Roe v. Wade,
while Obama has supported the
infamous decision, asked, "Could
either of you ever nominate
someone to the Supreme Court
who disagrees with you on this
issue?"
Both
of the candidates said that
they would not introduce a strict
"litmus test" for
Supreme Court nominees, and
that candidates should be weighed
according to their qualifications,
and not by their views on the
one issue.
However,
McCain restated his strong disagreement
with the Roe v. Wade decision,
which opened the door to abortion
in the US. McCain has repeatedly
stated in the past that Roe
v. Wade should be overturned,
and that the issue of abortion
should be put into the hands
of the individual states.
Barack
Obama responded that while "we
shouldn't apply a strict litmus
test" to Supreme Court
nominees, "I am somebody
who believes that Roe versus
Wade was rightly decided."
Obama
went on to defend his extreme
views on abortion, indicating
that in his view the Constitution's
provisions regarding the "right
to privacy" can be interpreted
to create a Constitutional "right"
to abortion.
"I
think that the Constitution
has a right to privacy in it
that shouldn't be subject to
state referendum," he said,
"any more than our First
Amendment rights are subject
to state referendum, any more
than many of the other rights
that we have should be subject
to popular vote."
When
the issue of BAIPA was raised
by Senator McCain, Obama deflected
McCain's criticisms, claiming
that, because BAIPA would have
mandated that doctors provide
life-saving care to infants
born alive, the bill would have
"undermined Roe v. Wade."
"If
it sounds incredible that I
would vote to withhold lifesaving
treatment from an infant, that's
because it's not true,"
he said. "There was a bill
that was put forward before
the Illinois Senate that said
you have to provide lifesaving
treatment and that would have
helped to undermine Roe v. Wade."
Obama
has taken a great deal of heat
from pro-life and conservative
groups over his record on BAIPA,
with many groups accusing the
senator of having in effect
voted to support "infanticide."
In August it was revealed that
Obama had repeatedly lied about
his record on BAIPA, claiming
that he would have voted for
the bill if it had included
a clause, found in a federal
version of the bill, that made
it explicitly clear that the
legislation would have no effect
on abortion "rights."
The problem, however, was that
records clearly show that Obama
voted against a version of the
bill that did include the clause
in question.
After
a campaign was launched by the
National Right to Life Committee
(NRLC), exposing Obama's record
on BAIPA, Obama initially accused
NRLC of "lying." Obama,
however, was later forced to
admit that he had "misrepresented"
his position on BAIPA, after
numerous factchecking organizations
stood by NRLC's claims.
McCain
concluded the debate segment
on abortion by suggesting that
the solution to the problem
of unwanted pregnancy is not
abortion, but to improve adoption
services. "Look, Cindy
and I are adoptive parents,"
he said. "We know what
a treasure and joy it is to
have an adopted child in our
lives. We'll do everything we
can to improve adoption in this
country." It's "vital"
said McCain, that the government
should "help these young
women who are facing such a
difficult decision, with a compassion,
that we'll help them with the
adoptive services, with the
courage to bring that child
into this world and we'll help
take care of it."
Earlier
in the debate McCain had self-described
as "proudly pro-life."
"We have to change the
culture of America," he
said. "Those of us who
are proudly pro-life understand
that. And it's got to be courage
and compassion that we show
to a young woman who's facing
this terribly difficult decision."
"For to me life is Christ,
and death is gain." (Phil
1:21)