“Thirty-five years after the Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade, it’s never been more important to protect a woman’s right to choose....Throughout my career, I’ve been a consistent and strong supporter of reproductive justice, and have consistently had a 100% pro-choice rating with Planned Parenthood and NARAL Pro-Choice America.”
~~~ Senator Barack Obama
Barack Obama is a co-sponsor of the “Freedom of Choice Act” (FOCA), a bill that would nullify virtually all federal and state limitations on abortion, including the types now permitted by the Supreme Court, such as parental notification laws and waiting periods. It would also make partial-birth abortion legal again.
While in the Illinois State Senate, Barack Obama voted against legislation that prohibited taxpayer dollars from being used to pay for abortion. His campaign has stated that he “does not support” the Hyde Amendment, which prohibits taxpayer funding of abortion through the Medicaid program.
Barack Obama voted to block a bill to require an abortionist to notify a parent before performing an abortion on a minor who lives in another state.
Barack Obama voted against an amendment to allow states to provide federally subsidized health care insurance for an unborn child (within the SCHIP program). The amendment would have written explicit language into the SCHIP statute to guarantee that a covered child “includes, at the option of a State, an unborn child.” The amendment further defined “unborn child” as “a member of the species homo sapiens, at any stage of development, who is carried in the womb.”
Barack Obama sharply criticized the Supreme Court for its 2007 Gonzales v. Carhart decision upholding the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. He said, “I strongly disagree with today’s Supreme Court ruling...I am extremely concerned that this ruling 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, which is established federal law and a matter of equal rights for women.”
While a member of the Illinois State Senate, Barack Obama opposed the proposed “Born-Alive Infants Protection Act” (BAIPA). The measure was very similar to the federal BAIPA, which President Bush signed into law in 2002. Obama opposed the legislation for three straight legislative sessions and twice spoke against the bill on the Senate floor. He voted against the bill twice in committee and once on the Senate floor. Both laws were intended to provide protection for babies who survived abortions equal to protection received by babies who are spontaneously born prematurely.
Since his election to the Senate in 2004, Barack Obama has compiled a 0% voting record on prolife issues scored by the National Right to Life Committee. By contrast, he has a 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice Americ
Obfuscatory scrivenry at its best.