Correction: Obama Opposes Central Elements of the Pregnant Women Support Act

Although I had promised my most recent post to be the last in this thread, readers have noted I made a significant error ( and one in Senator Obama’s favor) that should be corrected, lest other readers of the Mirror of Justice mistakenly believe that Senator Obama at least fully supports social welfare initiatives that would discourage abortion.

We’ve recently been discussing whether the pro-life witness should be upheld by supporting the presidential candidate (Senator John McCain) with a clear message to protect the sanctity of unborn human life or whether the pro-life cause would be advanced (or at least not undermined) by support for the presidential candidate (Senator Barack Obama) who has a pro-choice message but who supports social welfare programs that would provide greater health and welfare benefits for pregnant women who thus might not choose abortion. As that discussion began, my colleague Tom Berg highlighted the proposed Pregnant Women Support Act initiative supported by Democrats for Life as an example of what could be achieved during a Democratic Administration.

Mirror of Justice readers have contacted me pointing out that, even while arguing that the pro-life witness should not be compromised by accepting programmatic promises from pro-choice politicians, I had conceded too much by assuming that the Democratic Party in general or the Democratic presidential nominee in particular are genuinely supportive of such programs. Our readers have observed that Senator Obama has never co-sponsored or endorsed the Pregnant Women Support Act legislation and has strongly opposed key initiatives that are part of that proposal.

In fact, Senator Obama has voted against or directly opposed two of the central elements included among the foundational parts of the proposed Pregnant Women Support Act (see here). First, the proposed Pregnant Women Support Act would require health facilities that perform abortions to obtain informed consent from a woman seeking abortion. But Senator Obama has strongly and repeatedly endorsed and promised to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, legislation that would overturn informed consent requirements at the state and national level. Second, the proposed Pregnant Women Support Act would enhance health care coverage by allowing states to extend medical care coverage to an unborn child. When the same proposal was offered as separate legislation, Senator Obama voted against it.

In sum, assuming that Senator Obama as president would balance out his increasingly aggressive pro-choice message, administrative proposals, and legislative initiatives with support for programs that might incidentally reduce abortion is a thin reed upon which to justify support by a faithful pro-life voter.

Greg Sisk