First of all, I would like to say that, yes, I am Pro-life. However, I do not see it as a black and white issue. Just as people used the bible to enforce slavery and segregation for generations, today they wield the bible in order to condemn women making very difficult, private decisions. I don't think that our standing around- pointing fingers at one another is the answer. I don't think advocating abortion is correct either. I think living life, loving eachother and offering grace to one another is the best way to approach this issue. Let's start from our own communities, one neighbor at a time.
Anyhow, there is always a bunch of political slander circulating the news and internet so close to the upcoming election and I would like to clarify at least this one question: where does Obama stand on abortion?
It seems that many people are willing to elect a candidate for their stance on just a few political issues, rather than their entire political stand point. I think this is a grave mistake. Politicians have a way of blinding us to their faults by distracting us with issues close to our hearts and high on our moral lists.
So, for those of you willing to hear the truth behind the slander and the slanted truths, here you go:
Obama's Response:
“The issue of abortion, I don’t think, has gone away. People think about it a lot, obviously you do and you feel impassioned. I think that the American people struggle with two principles: There’s the principle that a fetus is not just an appendage, it’s potential life. I think people recognize that there’s a moral element to that. They also believe that women should have some control over their bodies and themselves and there is a privacy element to making those decisions.
“I don’t think people take the issue lightly. A lot of people have arrived in the view that I’ve arrived at, which is that there is a moral implication to these issues, but that the women involved are in the best position to make that determination. And I don’t think they make it lightly. I don’t think they make it callously, so I reject a comparison between a woman struggling with these issues and Michael Vick fighting dogs for sport. I don’t think that’s sort of how people perceive it.
“Now, this is one of those areas – again, I think it’s important to be honest – where I don’t think you’re ever going to get a complete agreement on this issue. If you believe that life begins at conception, then I can’t change your mind. I think there is a large agreement, for example, that late-term abortions are really problematic and there should be a regulation. And it should only happen in terms of the mother’s life or severe health consequences, so I think there is broad agreement on these issues.
“One area where I think we should have significant agreement is on the idea of reducing unwanted pregnancies because if we can reduce unwanted pregnancies, then it’s much less likely that people resort to abortion. The way to do that is to encourage young people and older people, people of child-bearing years, to act responsibly. Part of acting responsibly – I’ve got two daughters – part of my job as a parent is to communicate to them that sex isn’t casual and that it’s something that they should really think about and not think is just a game.
“I’m all for education for our young people, encouraging abstinence until marriage, but I also believe that young people do things regardless of what their parents tell them to do and I don’t want my daughters ending up in really difficult situations because I didn’t communicate to them, how to protect themselves if they make a mistake. I think we’ve got to have that kind of comprehensive view that says family planning and education for our young people and so forth – to prevent teen pregnancies, to prevent the kinds of situations that lead to women having to struggle with these difficult decisions and we should be supportive of those efforts. That’s an area where there should be some agreement.”
