Obama Addressed Health Exception For Abortion

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Mental Health;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 08 Jul 2008 - 5:00 PST

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Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) in an interview last week with the Christian magazine Relevant said that "mental distress" should not qualify as a justification for "late-term" abortions, the AP/Google.com reports.

In the interview, Obama said, "Now, I don't think that 'mental distress' qualifies as the health of the mother. I think it has to be a serious physical issue that arises in pregnancy, where there are real, significant problems to the mother carrying that child to term." Last year, following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld a federal ban (PL 108-105) on so-called "partial-birth" abortion, Obama said he "strongly disagreed" with the decision because it "dramatically departs from previous precedents safeguarding the health of pregnant women." According to the AP/Google.com, the health care exception is "crucial" to abortion-rights advocates and is considered a "legal loophole" by abortion-rights opponents. By limiting the health exception to a "serious physical issue," Obama has set himself apart from other abortion-rights supporters, the AP/Google.com reports (Kuhnhenn, AP/Google.com, 7/4).

Jan Crawford Greenburg -- an ABC News correspondent who covers the Supreme Court and provides legal analysis on the ABC News blog "Legalities" -- said that Obama's statements run "contrary to 35 years of Supreme Court jurisprudence on the issue, which has always demanded that abortion bans contain an exception to allow the procedure to protect a woman's 'mental health,' as well as her physical health." She states that Obama is backing away from what the law says -- as well as backing away from the Freedom of Choice Act, a proposed law that he has co-sponsored, that "envisions a much broader definition of mental health than the one he laid out this week." Greenburg notes that FOCA refers to Doe v. Bolton, a key Supreme Court case decided the same day as Roe v. Wade in 1973, that said a doctor could decide to perform an abortion based on "all factors -- physical, emotional, psychological, familial and the woman's age -- relevant to the well-being of the patient. According to Greenburg, only Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia have "expressed the view that a 'mental health' exception is not required." (Greenburg, "Legalities," ABC News, 7/5).

The official position of NARAL Pro-Choice America, which endorsed Obama in May, states that a "health exception must also account for the mental health problems that may occur in pregnancy. Severe fetal anomalies, for example, can exact a tremendous emotional toll on a pregnant woman and her family." In a recent statement responding to Obama's interview, the group said Obama's views are consistent with Roe v. Wade, adding that Obama "has made strong statements against President Bush's Federal Abortion Ban, which does not have an exception to protect a woman's health." Tommy Vietor, Obama's spokesperson, said that "Obama has consistently maintained that laws restricting abortions must contain exceptions for the health and life of the mother." (AP/Google.com, 7/4).

Obama on Saturday clarified his position and said, "I have consistently been saying that you have to have a health exception on many significant restrictions or bans on abortions including late-term abortions." He added, "My only point is that in an area like partial-birth abortion having a mental [or] having a health exception can be defined rigorously. It can be defined through physical health [and] it can be defined by serious clinical mental health diseases." He said, "Now I don't think that 'mental distress' qualifies as the health of the mother," adding, "I think it has to be a serious physical issue that arises in pregnancy, where there are real, significant problems to the mother carrying that child to term." Obama campaign spokesperson Linda Douglass said that the senator was making a distinction in the Relevant interview between medically diagnosed mental illnesses and the kind of mental distress that an unplanned pregnancy can cause. "Mental distress is not an illness," Douglass said, adding, "He absolutely believes and has always said there has to be a health exception for serious physical and mental illness" (James, "The Swamp," Chicago Tribune, 7/5).

Greenburg writes that what makes Obama's remarks so "startling" is that the senator is "trying to restrict abortions after 22 weeks to those women who have a serious disease or illness. But the law today also covers some women who are in 'mental distress,' those women who would suffer emotional and psychological harm without an abortion" ("Legalities," ABC News, 7/5).

Rove Attacks Obama's Stance on Abortion

In related news, former Bush administration Chief of Staff Karl Rove on Friday during a speech to members of the National Right to Life attacked Obama for his positions on abortion while praising Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) for his values, the New York Times' "The Caucus" reports. During his speech, Rove said that Obama is threatening "to strike down all the good work that [NRTL has] done over decades" through his support of the Freedom of Choice Act and other measures that would advance abortion rights.

Obama "is a man who stands up and says he is going to bring Republicans and Democrats together to achieve great things for the country," Rove said, adding, "How can [Obama] claim to do that if [he is] at the same time supporting the divisive practice of using taxpayer dollars to fund abortion? You can't. You cannot square that circle." Rove also noted that Obama has a zero rating from NRTL and a 100% rating from NARAL. Rove also attacked Obama's recent efforts to court "pro-life and values leaders" and try to "convince them that he's a reasonable person." Rove said, "I understand what he's trying to do," adding, "But there is a difference between talk and action." Obama's "actions over the years are far more important than any reassuring words that he can offer in a private conversation."

Responding to Rove's comments, Vietor said that "Obama is running for president to bring the country together and end the type of divisive politics perfected by Karl Rove" (Falcone, "The Caucus," New York Times, 7/4).

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