Obama, McCain Spar on Abortion in Final Debate

"We have to change the culture of America," said McCain. "Those of us who are proudly pro-life understand that."

NEW YORK, NY (LifeSiteNews) - In the third and final presidential debate, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama locked horns over the issue of abortion, with McCain describing himself as "proudly pro-life" and Obama standing by his extreme pro-abortion record. During the exchange Obama, considered by many to be the most pro-abortion presidential candidate in history, spent the majority of the time on the defensive after McCain repeatedly accused the Illinois senator of falling on the "extreme" side of the pro-abortion movement.

McCain invoked Obama's unapologetic support for partial birth abortion and his opposition to the Illinois Born Alive Infants Protection Act (BAIPA) as proving his opponent's "extreme" position, a position that McCain said alienates Obama from "mainstream" America."I don't know how you align yourself with the extreme aspect of the pro- abortion movement in America," McCain said, after criticizing Obama for his opposition to BAIPA, a bill that would have mandated that medical care be provided for infants born alive after a failed abortion.

Later McCain again accused Obama of being "extreme," after Obama attempted to justify his opposition to a partial-birth abortion ban, saying that he opposed the ban over concerns that it did not include an exception for the "health" of the mother."That's the extreme pro-abortion position, quote 'health'," countered McCain, observing that the term "health" has "been stretched by the pro-abortion movement in America to mean almost anything."

That exchange was the only time in the three presidential debates that the topic of abortion was discussed by the candidates.The subject arose when debate moderator Bob Schieffer, after observing that McCain has repeatedly expressed his disapproval of Roe v. Wade, while Obama has supported the infamous decision, asked, "Could either of you ever nominate someone to the Supreme Court who disagrees with you on this issue?"

Both of the candidates said that they would not introduce a strict "litmus test" for Supreme Court nominees, and that candidates should be weighed according to their qualifications, and not by their views on the one issue.
However, McCain restated his strong disagreement with the Roe v. Wade decision, which opened the door to abortion in the US. McCain has repeatedly stated in the past that Roe v. Wade should be overturned, and that the issue of abortion should be put into the hands of the individual states.

Barack Obama responded that while "we shouldn't apply a strict litmus test" to Supreme Court nominees, "I am somebody who believes that Roe versus Wade was rightly decided." Obama went on to defend his extreme views on abortion, indicating that in his view the Constitution's provisions regarding the "right to privacy" can be interpreted to create a Constitutional "right" to abortion.

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"I think that the Constitution has a right to privacy in it that shouldn't be subject to state referendum," he said, "any more than our First Amendment rights are subject to state referendum, any more than many of the other rights that we have should be subject to popular vote."

When the issue of BAIPA was raised by Senator McCain, Obama deflected McCain's criticisms, claiming that, because BAIPA would have mandated that doctors provide life-saving care to infants born alive, the bill would have "undermined Roe v. Wade."

"If it sounds incredible that I would vote to withhold lifesaving treatment from an infant, that's because it's not true," he said. "There was a bill that was put forward before the Illinois Senate that said you have to provide lifesaving treatment and that would have helped to undermine Roe v. Wade."

Obama has taken a great deal of heat from pro-life and conservative groups over his record on BAIPA, with many groups accusing the senator of having in effect voted to support "infanticide." In August it was revealed that Obama had repeatedly lied about his record on BAIPA, claiming that he would have voted for the bill if it had included a clause, found in a federal version of the bill, that made it explicitly clear that the legislation would have no effect on abortion "rights." The problem, however, was that records clearly show that Obama voted against a version of the bill that did include the clause in question.

After a campaign was launched by the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), exposing Obama's record on BAIPA, Obama initially accused NRLC of "lying." Obama, however, was later forced to admit that he had "misrepresented" his position on BAIPA, after numerous factchecking organizations stood by NRLC's claims.

McCain concluded the debate segment on abortion by suggesting that the solution to the problem of unwanted pregnancy is not abortion, but to improve adoption services. "Look, Cindy and I are adoptive parents," he said. "We know what a treasure and joy it is to have an adopted child in our lives. We'll do everything we can to improve adoption in this country." It's "vital" said McCain, that the government should "help these young women who are facing such a difficult decision, with a compassion, that we'll help them with the adoptive services, with the courage to bring that child into this world and we'll help take care of it."

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Earlier in the debate McCain had self-described as "proudly pro-life." "We have to change the culture of America," he said. "Those of us who are proudly pro-life understand that. And it's got to be courage and compassion that we show to a young woman who's facing this terribly difficult decision."

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