Friday, September 19, 2008

Does Obama Support Infanticide?   [Peter Kirsanow]

Ramesh states that Obama doesn't support infanticide (re: Born Alive Infant Protection Act —" BAIPA"), but that in certain cases, Obama is pro-choice on infanticide.

Ramesh's formulation is no less accurate for being clever. That said, an argument may be made that Obama's position on BAIPA goes a bit further than being simply "pro-choice" on infanticide — a description that conveys a sense of neutrality, a sense that Obama would merely decline to interfere in the determination not to protect the baby's life once born.

Consider, however, Obama's stated concern during the Illinois state senate's deliberations on BAIPA that the bill is "really designed to burden the original decision of the woman and the physician to induce labor and perform an abortion." In other words, the decision not to bear a living child has already been made. Under extant Illinois law, there are no further legal impediments to executing that decision, and the ultimate outcome will never be in doubt. Therefore, Obama's "no" vote on BAIPA goes beyond "choice" since, in his mind, the predetermined result was always a dead baby. His vote affirmatively enables infanticide.

Obama worked hard against BAIPA. He's the only U.S. senator to vote against the language of the bill — and he voted against it several times. His position went beyond even that of NARAL. He's declared that if one of his daughter's gets pregnant, he doesn't want her "punished' with a baby.

Ramesh's statement is a fair one. It's also fair to say that Obama's position is that once the decision to abort has been made, the child is doomed.

09/19 04:01 PMShare