- Washington DC (CNA) -- Presidential candidate Senator
Barack Obama has promised to use the presidency as a "bully pulpit"
for homosexual activism, according to an open letter released on his campaign
website.
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- In the February 28 letter posted under the "LGBT"
section of the "People" heading, Senator Obama said he would
press for the passage of hate crime laws and a "fully inclusive"
Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would outlaw discrimination on
the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
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- "As your President, I will use the bully pulpit
to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family
and adoption laws," Obama said.
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- Obama said he favored civil unions over same-sex marriage
laws, but said, "I also believe that the federal government should
not stand in the way of states that want to decide on their own how best
to pursue equality for gay and lesbian couples..."
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- He pledged to repeal the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
practice that excludes open homosexuals from military service.
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- Obama said winning broad support for his positions was
important, saying he would bring his LGBT activism to "skeptical audiences
as well as friendly ones."
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- "I will never compromise on my commitment to equal
rights for all LGBT Americans. But neither will I close my ears to the
voices of those who still need to be convinced. That is the work we must
do to move forward together. It is difficult. It is challenging. And it
is necessary," he said.
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- Obama Pledge To Planned Parenthood:
"I will not yield" To Pro-Life Concerns
- 3-3-8
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 Washington DC, Feb 28, 2008 (CNA)
-- On Wednesday a full transcript of Democrat presidential candidate
Senator Barack Obama's July 2007 speech to the Planned Parenthood Action
Fund in which he vigorously defended legalized abortion became available.
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- In the July 17 speech, Obama attacked the Supreme Court
decision that upheld the federal partial-birth abortion ban and the nomination
of Supreme Court justices who favor overturning Roe v. Wade. In the speech
the senator said, "There will always be people, many of goodwill,
who do not share my view on the issue of choice. On this fundamental issue,
I will not yield and Planned Parenthood will not yield."
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- Obama based his speech around the question, "What
kind of America will our daughters grow up in?"
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- He specifically argued against the Supreme Court decision
Gonzales v. Carhart, which upheld restrictions on partial-birth abortion.
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- "For the first time in Gonzales versus Carhart,"
Obama said, "the Supreme Court held-upheld a federal ban on abortions
with criminal penalties for doctors. For the first time, the Court's endorsed
an abortion restriction without an exception for women's health. The decision
presumed that the health of women is best protected by the Court-not by
doctors and not by the woman herself. That presumption is wrong."
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- He warned abortion supporters that the partial-birth
abortion ban should not be construed as an isolated effort, saying it was
wrong to presume the law was "not part of a concerted effort to roll
back the hard-won rights of American women."
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- Obama said the decision had encouraged an Alabama lawmaker
to introduce a measure to ban all abortions. "With one more vacancy
on the Court, we could be looking at a majority hostile to a woman's fundamental
right to choose for the first time since Roe versus Wade and that is what
is at stake in this election," Obama claimed.
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- The senator said he had a long tradition of support for
legalized abortion, citing his efforts in the Illinois State Senate and
his classes as a law professor. "I have worked on these issues for
decades now," he said. "I put Roe at the center of my lesson
plan on reproductive freedom when I taught Constitutional Law. Not simply
as a case about privacy but as part of the broader struggle for women's
equality."
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- The dissent of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg in Gonzales
v. Carhart won praise from Obama while Justice Anthony Kennedy, who spoke
for the majority, was held up for ridicule.
- "The only thing more disturbing than the decision
was the rationale of the majority. Without any hard evidence, Justice Kennedy
proclaimed, 'It is self-evident that a woman would regret her choice.'
He cited medical uncertainty about the need to protect the health of pregnant
women. Even though the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
found no such uncertainty. Justice Kennedy knows many things, my understanding
is he does not know how to be a doctor," Obama said.
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- On the topic of judicial appointments, Obama reaffirmed
his opposition to the confirmation of Supreme Court Justices Roberts and
Alito, who are believed to be hostile to the Roe v. Wade decision that
legalized abortion nationwide.
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- Obama also depicted his opponents as divisive, saying,
"They want us to believe that there's nothing that unites us as Americans-there's
only what divides us. They'll seek out the narrowest and most divisive
ground."
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- Senator Obama said he was "absolutely convinced
that culture wars are so nineties," saying it was "time to turn
the page."
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- "We're tired about arguing about the same ole' stuff,"
he continued. And I am convinced we can win that argument. If the argument
is narrow, then oftentimes we lose."
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- He said abortion advocates should emphasize their support
for women to have the "same chances" as men.
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- Laura Echevarria, the political writer and former National
Right to Life Committee spokeswoman who transcribed the July speech, criticized
Obama's remarks.
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- "Many Americans see Barack Obama as a kind and compassionate
candidate," she said. "However, Mr. Obama's compassion does not
extend to our most vulnerable members of society- -unborn children."
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- http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=11918
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- Nurse Says Obama Supports
Infanticide Via Abortion
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- Barack Obama, presidential candidate
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- Washington DC, Feb 16, 2008 (CNA) -- A pro-life
nurse is seconding a statement made by Alan Keyes that Jesus Christ would
not vote for Barack Obama, pointing to his support for infanticide.
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- Jill Stanek is a nurse who discovered babies were being
aborted alive and shelved to die in soiled utility rooms while working
at a hospital in Illinois and since has been a strong advocate against
partial-birth and live-birth abortions.
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- According to her commentary on WorldNetDaily.com, Stanek
explains why Keyes made his statement.
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- At the federal level, legislation was presented called
the Born Alive Infants Protection Act (BAIPA) which stated all live-born
babies were guaranteed the same constitutional right to equal protection,
whether or not they were wanted.
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- BAIPA sailed through the U.S. Senate by unanimous vote
and by an overwhelming majority in the House. President Bush signed the
bill into law in 2002.
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- Stanek wrote that, "in Illinois, the state version
of BAIPA repeatedly failed, thanks in large part to then-state Sen. Barack
Obama. It only passed in 2005, after Obama left."
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- "Obama articulately worried that legislation protecting
live aborted babies might infringe on women's rights or abortionists' rights.
Obama's clinical discourse, his lack of mercy, shocked me. I was naive
back then. Obama voted against the measure, twice. It ultimately failed."
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- "So, the reason Keyes said Jesus Christ wouldn't
vote for Barack Obama was because of Obama's fanatical support of abortion
to the point of condoning infanticide."
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- In a recent USA Today opinion piece, Obama admitted being
"nagged" by the Jesus-wouldn't-vote-for-him statement, but only
because he wished he'd given a different comeback.
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- Obama's initial response, as stated in USA Today was
"that we live in a pluralistic society, and that I can't impose my
religious views on another." He added that he was running to be the
U.S. senator of Illinois, and not a minister.
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- Stanek summarized Obama's second response saying that
"Obama insinuated opposition to abortion is based only on religion,
lecturing pro-lifers like me to 'explain why abortion violates some principle
that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith
at all.'"
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- "I don't recall mentioning religion when I testified
against live-birth abortion. I only recall describing a live aborted baby
I held in a hospital soiled utility room until he died, and a live aborted
baby who was accidentally thrown into the trash," she told WorldNetDaily.
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- Yet, Stanek pointed out that religion was never part
of the abortion ban debate. "I recall comparisons made to U.S. laws
ensuring animals being killed are treated humanely. I recall testimony
that late-term babies feel excruciating pain while being aborted."
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- Stanek concluded by asking Obama, why do "you think
Jesus should vote for you?"
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- http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=11799
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