Antiabortion Groups Call On Obama To Recant Statement About Teen Pregnancy

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Pregnancy / Obstetrics;  Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 03 Apr 2008 - 7:00 PDT

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Some antiabortion groups are calling on Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) to recant a statement he made at a town hall meeting in Johnstown, Pa., on Saturday regarding teenage pregnancy, the Washington Times reports.

In response to a question about sex education and HIV/AIDS, Obama said he supports sex education that includes information about abstinence and contraception. Obama said he plans to teach his two daughters "first of all about values and morals." He added that if "they make a mistake" and have sex as teens, he does not want them "punished with a baby." Obama said that "it doesn't make sense to not give" teens information about pregnancy prevention and sexually transmitted infections.

The group Concerned Women for America, which opposes abortion rights, called on Obama to recant the statement, saying that it places a stigma on infants born to teens and "provides an excuse for aborting them." Tommy Vietor, a spokesperson for Obama, said the senator's comments should not be interpreted as condoning abortion. Vietor added that it "is clear" Obama believes children are "miracles" but that there is a "problem when so many children are having children."

According to Vietor, Obama "understands the passions on both sides" of the debate on sex education and abortion and "believes we can all agree that we should be taking steps to reduce the number of teen pregnancies and abortions in this country." CWA President Wendy Wright said Obama "should clearly recant and not side-step this issue," adding, "No baby is a 'punishment'" (Miller, Washington Times, 4/2).

Broadcast Coverage

MSNBC's "Verdict with Dan Abrams" on Tuesday included a discussion with talk show host Armstrong Williams and Joan Walsh of Salon.com about reaction to Obama's comments (Abrams, "Verdict with Dan Abrams," MSNBC, 4/1).

Related Opinion Piece

Although Obama has not made his support for abortion rights the "shouted refrain of his campaign," his record on the issue is "extreme," and his statements at the Johnstown town hall meeting are "hardly a welcoming attitude toward new life," Michael Gerson -- columnist for the Washington Post, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and President Bush's chief speechwriter from 2001 until June 2006 -- writes in an opinion piece.

According to Gerson, Obama "could take the wise counsel of evangelical Democrats ... and come out strongly for policies that would reduce the number of abortions," such as "support for pregnant women, abstinence education and responsible promotion of birth control." Gerson suggests that Obama support a "unifying goal," such as the group Democrats for Life's "95-10" proposal to reduce abortion rates by 95% within 10 years. Although such efforts "will not please many" abortion-rights opponents who want Obama to support "any type of legal protection," it would "indicate that Obama's party is moving beyond its humiliation" of former Pennsylvania Gov. Robert Casey (D) when it banned him from speaking to the Democratic National Convention in 1992 because of his antiabortion views (Gerson, Washington Post, 4/2).

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