In 2002, Barack Obama Supported Infanticide and I've Got the Transcript of His Words
Posted by: Erick Erickson
Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 11:08AM
11 Comments <!-- >(2 new) -->
<!-- sphereit start -->Editorial Note: People forget this issue came up more than once in Illinois. In 2001, Obama was concerned about abortion rights and the impact the Born Alive Infant Protection Act would have on abortion rights. In 2002, those concerns were addressed and fixed in the legislation. Now Obama's concerns were more clear. His views on life had no where else to hide.
<HR>What has Barack Obama said about his opposition to the Born Alive Infant Protection Act?
Obama has made several points, which we should recount.
First, Obama claimed doctors must render the care away. As David Freddosso has regularly pointed out, that was not true.
In fact, the Illinois Attorney General determined that doctors were under no such obligation when a child, born alive, had been intended to be aborted. Doctors only had the obligation to give life sustaining treatment when it was intended that the child be born alive.
Obama, then claimed his concern related to there being no language protecting Roe v. Wade in the legislation. He told the Chicago Tribune as much in October of 2004. In fact, that has been his story the whole time.
This week, the story changed. This week, NRLC proved conclusively that the legislation did, in fact, protect Roe v. Wade.
Obama has now changed his story yet again. Now he says that, regardless of whether the statute protected Roe v. Wade based on its language, "even as worded, the legislation could have undermined existing Illinois abortion law."
But what did Obama say back then? What was Obama's excuse back in 2002? What were his words on the floor of the State Senate. Senator Obama was the only person to speak out in opposition of the Born Alive Infant Protection Act.
What did he say?
I've got the transcript. I've got Senator Obama's own words.
Here is what you need to know.
The legislation came up more than once. In 2001, Senator Obama was concerned about the legislation's impact on abortion. But when the bill came back in 2002, the issue about the law undermining abortion had been redressed.
In 2002, Senator Obama was not concerned about Roe v. Wade. He was not concerned with undermining abortion laws in Illinois. No, what Senator Obama today claims were his concerns were not his concerns back in 2002.
In 2002, Senator Obama stood on the floor of the Illinois State Senate to oppose the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. By this time, even the abortion rights organizations like Planned Parenthood had dropped their opposition. But Obama continued to oppose the law.
He was the only person to speak out against the legislation.
In an exchange with Senator O'Malley, the legislation's sponsor, Obama's concern was about second guessing the abortionist.
Here is what he said:
That's it. If a baby comes out and is alive, Barack Obama thought it too damned burdensome to have another doctor, someone used to dealing with live babies, check to see if the baby was viable.
Don't believe me? Read the transcript here.
No one else spoke out against the legislation. Only Barack Obama was so concerned about the doctor performing the abortion, he did not think it worth having a doctor used to live babies coming in to see if the baby might live. Only Barack Obama
Posted by: Erick Erickson
Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 11:08AM
11 Comments <!-- >(2 new) -->
<!-- sphereit start -->Editorial Note: People forget this issue came up more than once in Illinois. In 2001, Obama was concerned about abortion rights and the impact the Born Alive Infant Protection Act would have on abortion rights. In 2002, those concerns were addressed and fixed in the legislation. Now Obama's concerns were more clear. His views on life had no where else to hide.
<HR>What has Barack Obama said about his opposition to the Born Alive Infant Protection Act?
Obama has made several points, which we should recount.
First, Obama claimed doctors must render the care away. As David Freddosso has regularly pointed out, that was not true.
In fact, the Illinois Attorney General determined that doctors were under no such obligation when a child, born alive, had been intended to be aborted. Doctors only had the obligation to give life sustaining treatment when it was intended that the child be born alive.
Obama, then claimed his concern related to there being no language protecting Roe v. Wade in the legislation. He told the Chicago Tribune as much in October of 2004. In fact, that has been his story the whole time.
This week, the story changed. This week, NRLC proved conclusively that the legislation did, in fact, protect Roe v. Wade.
Obama has now changed his story yet again. Now he says that, regardless of whether the statute protected Roe v. Wade based on its language, "even as worded, the legislation could have undermined existing Illinois abortion law."
But what did Obama say back then? What was Obama's excuse back in 2002? What were his words on the floor of the State Senate. Senator Obama was the only person to speak out in opposition of the Born Alive Infant Protection Act.
What did he say?
I've got the transcript. I've got Senator Obama's own words.
Here is what you need to know.
The legislation came up more than once. In 2001, Senator Obama was concerned about the legislation's impact on abortion. But when the bill came back in 2002, the issue about the law undermining abortion had been redressed.
In 2002, Senator Obama was not concerned about Roe v. Wade. He was not concerned with undermining abortion laws in Illinois. No, what Senator Obama today claims were his concerns were not his concerns back in 2002.
In 2002, Senator Obama stood on the floor of the Illinois State Senate to oppose the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. By this time, even the abortion rights organizations like Planned Parenthood had dropped their opposition. But Obama continued to oppose the law.
He was the only person to speak out against the legislation.
In an exchange with Senator O'Malley, the legislation's sponsor, Obama's concern was about second guessing the abortionist.
Here is what he said:
As I understand it, this puts the burden on the attending physician who has determined, since they were performing this procedure, that, in fact, this is a nonviable fetus; that if that fetus, or child - however way you want to describe it - is now outside the mother's womb and the doctor continues to think that it's nonviable but there's, let's say, movement or some indication that, in fact, they're not just coming out limp and dead, that, in fact, they would then have to call a second physician to monitor and check off and make sure that this is not a live child that could be saved.
SHORTER BARACK OBAMA: Let's trust the guy who just botched the abortion to determine whether or not he actually did botch the abortion.
That's it. If a baby comes out and is alive, Barack Obama thought it too damned burdensome to have another doctor, someone used to dealing with live babies, check to see if the baby was viable.
Don't believe me? Read the transcript here.
No one else spoke out against the legislation. Only Barack Obama was so concerned about the doctor performing the abortion, he did not think it worth having a doctor used to live babies coming in to see if the baby might live. Only Barack Obama
