Sanctity of life a chasm in campaign

On some issues, voters may have difficulty distinguishing between Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama. Examples could include the economy, energy, defense and even taxing and spending. But there is one area in which their differences are absolutely clear: the rights of unborn children. McCain would protect these innocents and Obama would not. Ever since Roe v. Wade (1973), which held that unborn children are not persons and denied them any rights whatsoever, defenders of the controversial decision have employed the rhetoric of "a woman’s right to choose" or "reproductive rights." Indeed, in the name of "health," a woman may have an abortion for any reason during the entire nine months of pregnancy. It has been, and always will be, an absurdity to maintain that women cherish the right to make war on their nature or that they would place no value on the most precious gift of the Creator. But the euphemisms are necessary to conceal from everyone, including the parties directly involved in an abortion, with the actual horrific nature of baby killing.

In fact, "pro-choice," which is another version of the euphemism, has an historical antecedent which has all the vicious attributes of its vile successor. That would be "popular sovereignty," the rallying cry of northern Democrats before the Civil War who sought to deprive the decision of whether to permit slavery in the Western territories of any moral significance. "Let the people decide" is no different in principle from "let the woman decide." There is never a right to do what is wrong, so advocates or apologists for evil acts have to resort to sophistry. The most effective method is to corrupt liberty or majority rule, flattering the people but leading them astray.

McCain has always opposed Roe v. Wade, which nationalized abortion protection, and has advocated that the matter be returned to the states for their determination. He believes that the people should legislate and not the courts. Obama, on the other hand, is a cosponsor of the "Freedom of Choice Act," which would remove all barriers to unrestricted abortion, including financial. He has said that this will be a priority of his administration.

When Congress passed the Partial Birth Abortion Act of 2003, McCain voted for it. This gruesome procedure is employed late term to ensure the death of the infant by severing its spinal cord at the back of the neck. Obama insists on a "health" exception, which would serve the same function as it does in Roe v. Wade, meaning that no such abortion could be prevented. Obama opposes the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Gonzales v. Carhart (2007), which upheld the congressional ban.

The late Rep. William Hyde of Illinois in 1975 authored the amendment which bears his name forbidding federal funding of abortions. McCain has always voted for it when it has been challenged. Obama opposed any limits on funding in the Illinois legislature and has stated that he does not support the Hyde Amendment.

No thanks to the "sexual revolution," millions of adolescent girls have gotten pregnant and many of them are pressured by their (frequently older) boyfriends to have an abortion and spare them the responsibility of supporting the child which the couple has conceived. Even states with permissive abortion rules and funding have adopted measures that require an abortionist to notify at least one parent of the impending procedure. McCain voted for such legislation whereas Obama voted to block it even if the child is from another state.

Finally, sometimes babies survive late-term abortions and yet they are either allowed to die or are put to death by drowning or suffocation. McCain voted for federal legislation to protect these babies just as those who are born prematurely, while Obama voted three times against a similar bill in the Illinois legislature.

It came as no surprise to those familiar with Obama’s pro-abortion record when he told Pastor Rick Warren of the Saddleback Baptist Church that determining when life begins is "above his pay grade." McCain forthrightly declared that the rights of the child begin at conception. Nothing else but a human child is developing in the mother’s womb, a fact which Obama denies and McCain affirms.