eCatholicHub - abortion

ON ABORTION

OBAMA'S CAMPAIGN WEBSITE NOTES...

"He opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in that case."

(click to read website's tout of Obama as "consistant champion" for abortion* - link)

* CAMPAIGN WEBSITE DOES NOT PROVIDE SUFFICIENT INFORMATION - (We apologize for our inability to find and post a direct statement concerning the candidate and "abortion" from the official campaign website. As of 6/9/08 it mentions "abortion" only once. In the paragraph "abortion" is stated in, the issue is also refered to as "woman's right to choose", "reproductive choice", and perhaps is alluded to in the following paragraph as "compassionate assistance." - Solidarity Institute research team)

OBAMA STATED...

[Concerning a setion of an Illinois bill that would allow medical care immediately after failed partial-birth abortions, thus stopping the child who has survived from now being neglected unto death. In opposition to this bill, (as Sen. Obama's quotes below reveal) the surviving post-birth children are called "fetuses" and "pre-viable", thus keeping them from the status of "person" which would entitle them to equal rights.]
(Illinois Senate Bill 1093, 3/30/2001 - link)

"Number one, whenever we define a previable fetus as a person that is protected by the equal protection clause or the other elements in the Constitution, what we're really saying is, in fact, that they are persons that are entitled to the kinds of protections that would be provided to a - a child, a nine-month-old - child that was delivered to term. That determination then, essentially, if it was accepted by a court, would forbid abortions to take place. I mean, it - it would essentially bar abortions, because the equal protection clause does not allow somebody to kill a child, and if this is a child, then this would be an antiabortion statute... this essentially says that a doctor is required to provide treatment to a previalble child, or fetus, however way you want to describe it. Viability is the line that has been drawn by the Supreme Court to determine whether or not an abortion can or cannot take place. [insert/ comment for readers' Constitutional clarity - Senator O'Malley in response: The Constitution does not say that a child born must be viable in order to live and be accoreded the rights of citizenship. It simply says it must be born."] And if we're placing a burden on the doctor that says you have to keep alive even a previable child as long as possible and give them as much medical attention as - as is necessary to try to keep that child alive, then we're probably crossing the line in terms of unconstitutionality."
(Sen. Obama's quotes concerning Illinois Senate Bill 1093, 3/30/2001 - link)

II.
"But it [HIV/AIDS prevention/education] should also include -- it should also include other, you know, information about contraception because, look, I've got two daughters; 9 years old and 6 years old... I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby."
(Town hall meeting - Johnstown, PA, 3/29/2008 - audio link or video link)

III.
On this fundamental issue, I will not yield and Planned Parenthood will not yield.
(Address to Planned Parenthood Action 7/17/2007 - audio link or video link)

OBAMA VOTED...

I.
Sen. Obama voted "no" on notifying parents of minors who get out of state abortions.

["Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit transporting a minor child across a state line to obtain an abortion (deems such transporting to be a de facto abridgment of the right of a parent under any law in the minor's state of residence that requires parental involvement in the minor's abortion decision)."]

(Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act; Bill S.403 - link - THOMAS, Library of Congress)

II.
[Concerning a setion of an Illinois bill that would allow medical care immediately after failed late-term or partial-birth abortions, thus stopping the child who has survived from now being neglected unto death.]

Sen. Obama voted "present" * on (he voted against)** a bill that "provides that a live child born as a result of an [failed] abortion shall be fully recognized as a human person and that all reasonable measures consistent with good medical practice shall be taken to preserve the life and health of the child."
(Taken from ilga.gov summary of Illinois Senate Bill 1093, 3/30/2001 - link)

(* Explanation of "yes", "no", and "present" votes in Illinois legislation explained by "He Voted 'Present,' Which is Similar to 'No' " from politifact.com - link - "It's worth pausing here to explain what the 'present' vote means. The Illinois Legislature allows members to vote 'yes,' 'no,' or 'present.' Bills need 'yes' votes to pass, so a vote of 'present' counts the same as a 'no.' Thus, Obama's 'present' votes on bills seeking to restrict abortion counted the same as if he had voted 'no.')

(**Here as stated in the heading given by ontheissues.com link.)

III.

Sen. Obama Voted "no" on defining unborn child as eligible for SCHIP (health assistance).
(Summary provided by projectvotesmart.com - link - Vote to adopt an amendment that would define a "targeted low-income child" who is eligible for child health assistance under the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) as "an individual under age 19, including the period from conception to birth." - as voted on March 2008)

MEANING OF COLOR CLASSIFICATIONS

I.
If a candidate receives a classification...

RED , this does not necessarily mean that the candidate is 100% in favor of the non-negotiable issue, only that the candidate's views find (some) serious and clear departure from that of the Catholic Church.

YELLOW, this does not mean that the candidate is 50% in favor of the non-negotiable issue, only that there are details of the candidate's views that require the voter's compitant understanding.

GREEN , does not mean that the Church supports or endorses a specific candidate, only that the candidate agrees with the teaching of the Catholic Church on the specific non-negotiable.

II.
Therefore if both candidates receive the same classification on a specific non-negotiable this does not necessarily mean that the candidates' positions are similar, nor that they carry the same degree of similarity or difference from the teaching of the Catholic Church.