Lest We Forget the Abortion Issue

Lest We Forget the Abortion Issue
By G. Tracy Mehan, III on 8.30.11 @ 6:08AM



There is no question that the economy will be the central issue of the 2012 presidential election. No one, not even the most ardent defense hawk or most committed social conservative, believes otherwise. Still, serious social and cultural issues remain -- important in and of themselves, as well as to the Republicans' task of mobilizing and motivating their coalition to bring "change we can believe in" to Washington.

Lest we forget, President Obama, despite his continued attempts to mute the issue, may be the most pro-abortion politician to hold the top office of the land. Indeed, Vice President Biden​'s ">recent fudging on China's horrendous one-child and forced-abortion policies is just the latest manifestation of this reality.

The well regarded pro-life news service LifeNews.Com has recently updated its comprehensive compilation of "President Barack Obama's Pro-Abortion Record." The compilation opened with an entry documenting Obama's November 2008 choice of Rahm Emanuel -- who boasted a zero percent pro-life voting record per the National Right to Life Committee -- for Chief of Staff. It now includes several new entries for August 2011, including the effort to force insurance companies to pay for abortion drugs under Obamacare and the vice president's contretemps in China.

The entire document runs to 10 pages when printed out and encompasses, by my count, 148 entries.

According to LifeNews' Steven Ertelt, the compilation includes "bill signings, speeches, appointments and other actions that President Barack Obama has engaged in that have promoted abortion before and during his presidency."

"While Obama has promised to reduce abortions and some of his supporters believe that will happen, this long list proves his only agenda is promoting more abortions," says Ertelt.

Reading this sad, miserable catalogue of anti-life deeds, one can only feel sorry for those pro-life Democrats who have been co-opted by the President -- including former Michigan congressman Bart Stupak​, a truly tragic figure, given his stellar record until his capitulation on Obamacare.

From the earliest days of his administration, the President appointed leading pro-abortion activists to many positions of responsibility. He nominated NARAL legal director Dawn Johnsen as Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel and Ellen Moran​, former director of Emily's List, as his communications director. He also put former Emily's List board member Melody Barnes​ in the job of director of the Domestic Policy Council. And this was just in 2008.

Immediately after his Inauguration, on January 23, 2009, President Obama rescinded the Mexico City Policy originated under President Reagan​ and immediately started sending $457 million to international organizations promoting abortions. He also managed to get the Vatican to reject three ambassadorial nominees due to their pro-abortion positions.

Obama appointed pro-abortion Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, chipped away at pro-life conscience protections, and made pro-abortion Kathleen Sebelius Secretary of Health and Human Services, where she is the point person on Obamacare. So it was no surprise that pro-life groups were shut out of the White House health care summit while Planned Parenthood, the nation's biggest abortion provider, made the invitation list.

John Holdren, the President's science czar, has expressed his support for forced abortions, according to LifeNews.

The list goes on and on and on. LifeNews.Com helpfully includes links to sources and more information, for each entry, in its on-line version.

The overwhelming sense one gets reviewing the Obama record, notwithstanding some repetition here and there, is that abortion is not a peripheral or conflicted issue for President Obama and his administration. It is fundamental. It is part of their DNA.

Lest we forget the abortion issue and the right to life of the pre-born, concerned citizens should consult LifeNews.Com's thorough documentation of President Obama's actual record, not his rhetoric.