April 02, 2008
Obama Heckled By Abortion Protesters In PA
WEST CHESTER, PA -- Abortion protesters loudly heckled Barack Obama outside of the taping of Hardball's College Tour this afternoon for noting during a campaign stop earlier this week the reasons why he supports a woman's right to choose.
Obama was asked during an appearance in Johnstown what can be done to lower the rate of young women with STDs. He said: "Look, I got two daughters, 9 years old and 6 years old," he said. "I am going to teach them first about values and morals, but if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby. I don't want them punished with an STD at age 16, so it doesn't make sense to not give them information."
His answer was picked up by conservative blogs and sparked the protest at West Chester University this afternoon. About two dozen people held large pictures of aborted fetuses and signs that read: "Children are never a punishment."
Some asked why a candidate who says he believes in change doesn't want to change a system that murders children.
Obama emphasizes on the trail that abortion is a moral decision and that pregnant woman are in the best position to know what's best for their health and welfare.
Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), an abortion opponent who has campaigned alongside Obama this past week in some of PA's most conservative districts, praised Obama for giving an "honest answer" on the issue.
"Honesty is important when the issue of abortion arises," he said. "Where can we find common ground? Where can we bring both sides together?"
"I think what he expressed on that answer was a commitment to try and achieve common ground on a very difficult issue," he said. "I think he'd work to do that."
Casey said Obama supports family planning as a way to reduce the number of abortions.
"That's the kind of spirit of bringing sides together that he's really been very successful at as a legislator," Casey added. "I think as a president he would do the same thing to kind of bridge the gap where there are sharp differences."
(NBC/NJ's ASWINI ANBURAJAN)
Posted at 06:21 PM
Comments
Obama's response is an example of why he will not win the general election if he's the democratic nominee for president.
I believe in a woman's right to choose and I have a daughter but I would have answered the question differently than Obama. First, having a child is not punishment. This was a really stupid statement by Obama and it had nothing to do with honesty which is cop out by Bob Casey who is against abortion.
Instead, Obama should have stated that the choice of abortion is a private matter and if my daughter were to get pregnant at a young age I would have a discussion with her about her choices and the repercussion of her choices. But, at the end of the day it would be her choice which is what I believe. I have discussed sex with my daughter and abstinance until she's an adult or marriage is something that I believe in and have discussed with her. But she will make her own choices in life as she is an individual person. I just hope she listens to my guidance and uses commen sense which is all I can ask."
Obama is too glib in his responses on issues that effect "middle america" which leads to the comment that Obama is an elitist. Obama is digging his own grave....
Noel | 04.03.08 01:15 AM
 |
Obama's response is an example of why he will not win the general election if he's the democratic nominee for president.
I believe in a woman's right to choose and I have a daughter but I would have answered the question differently than Obama. First, having a child is not punishment. This was a really stupid statement by Obama and it had nothing to do with honesty which is cop out by Bob Casey who is against abortion.
Instead, Obama should have stated that the choice of abortion is a private matter and if my daughter were to get pregnant at a young age I would have a discussion with her about her choices and the repercussion of her choices. But, at the end of the day it would be her choice which is what I believe. I have discussed sex with my daughter and abstinance until she's an adult or marriage is something that I believe in and have discussed with her. But she will make her own choices in life as she is an individual person. I just hope she listens to my guidance and uses commen sense which is all I can ask."
Obama is too glib in his responses on issues that effect "middle america" which leads to the comment that Obama is an elitist. Obama is digging his own grave....
Noel | 04.03.08 01:15 AM
|
Obama's response is an example of why he will not win the general election if he's the democratic nominee for president.
I believe in a woman's right to choose and I have a daughter but I would have answered the question differently than Obama. First, having a child is not punishment. This was a really stupid statement by Obama and it had nothing to do with honesty which is cop out by Bob Casey who is against abortion.
Instead, Obama should have stated that the choice of abortion is a private matter and if my daughter were to get pregnant at a young age I would have a discussion with her about her choices and the repercussion of her choices. But, at the end of the day it would be her choice which is what I believe. I have discussed sex with my daughter and abstinance until she's an adult or marriage is something that I believe in and have discussed with her. But she will make her own choices in life as she is an individual person. I just hope she listens to my guidance and uses commen sense which is all I can ask."
Obama is too glib in his responses on issues that effect "middle america" which leads to the comment that Obama is an elitist. Obama is digging his own grave....
Noel | 04.03.08 01:16 AM
|
There was nothing wrong with Obama's statement, as far as I could tell. Yes, having a baby as a teenager while out of wedlock is a "punishment" if you aren't given the right to decide another path. Right wingers would love to ban contraception and ban abortion, thus punishing young girls with unwanted pregnancies for unprotected sex.
This is a total nonissue. Obama is 100% right here, and most of America agrees with him.
John | 04.03.08 01:36 AM
|
Obama answered a question far too many politicians avoid and answered it for himself and his family.
This is why I and the majority of America will vote for him in November.
As a previous poster said, they would have answered the question differently and they are welcome to do that and I am welcome to answer the question too in my own way as it relates to me.
Being a man, it's not my business what a woman does and the choices she makes. If I were involved in a situation I would hope that I would be welcome to the discussion the options but ultimately it's the woman's decision not our mine or our Governments.
I think Obama grasps this issue and I commend him for his honesty and candor.
Benj Thall | 04.03.08 01:41 AM
|
jesus, give the guy the benefit of the doubt. i'm sure he would could have worded his answer better and probably regrets that he didn't. The standards politicians are held to his f'ing ridiculous. How much public speaking you think think this guy has done over the the past 15 grueling months? Obama respects a woman's right to choose and he respects those who disagree. He defended some protesters at a large rally of his earlier this year, saying it was their great "right as Americans" to express their opinions publicly. I believe he even complimented them on sticking up for their cause. Don't be so quick to judge folks.
james MN | 04.03.08 02:16 AM
|
Noel, I liked a lot of what you had to say about how you would handle your daughter if she became pregnant, despite all your advice and discussions. It is good that you would encourage her to make her own decision if she did have an unplanned and possibly unwanted pregnancy.
What I find "glib" is that you were saying that unwanted pregnancies is somehow or another an issue that Affects "middle america". Not the rest of America? How did you extrapolate Obama's position to something about middle america and elitism? Isn't that a large stretch?
Sue | 04.03.08 02:22 AM
|
What's ironic about this is that, among themselves, conservatives who oppose birth control and sex education DO talk about punishing women who have unwanted pregnancies -- it's their punishment for having sex! These conservatives almost always seem to be men, and they seem to focus the majority of their outrage about sex & pregnancy on the woman (as if the man's contribution just kinda happened, like the weather or something). Their attitude is that if the woman got pregnant, she asked for it, and their tone is almost gleefully vindictive -- I'm speculating that's because they have some moral calculus that says Evil People are always Punished, and having sex (if you're a woman) for any reason other than procreation within marriage is Evil... therefore women who have sex must be punished. And now they're getting all sanctimonious on Obama -- what hypocrites.
Cindy | 04.03.08 03:00 AM
|
Forcing a young woman, say a high school student, to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term and become a mother at age 16 is a sort of 'punishment' by most people's standards and most people understand what Obama meant. His choice of words was poor only because it can be politically exploited by opponents. But that doesn't make what he said any less true.
Joseph | 04.03.08 03:55 AM
|
I'm pleased with Obama's answer. He didn't talk around the subject. He emphasized morality (so many pro-lifers think pro-choice people automatically throw morality to the wind). He emphasized INFORMATION, and choice.
This kind of earnestness and opinion is why I have campaigned for him and will continue to do so.
Yvonne Jocks | 04.03.08 05:26 AM
|
Yes, clearly Obama offends pro-life people so much that a pro-life Senator like Bob Casey probably wouldn't be able to support him. Oh, whoops, Casey supports him aand liked his answer. As for all the nuts and their pictures of fetuses, they don't care about babies after they are born, only before. That, and when you are brain dead, they are very concerned about your right to life. In between, though, it is everybody for themselves.
RP | 04.03.08 06:34 AM
|
Stop criticizing Obama!
You are anti-hope if you criticize him!
And change!
Obama! Obama! Obama!
He's magic!
megisi | 04.03.08 06:40 AM
|
Let;s try dealing with the facts. Obama's response was to a question about preventing STDs; it was not a question about abortion. If given another chance, would he word his response differently? Yes.
If we all agree that we want to prevent teen pregnancies, then we all agree that teens having babies is a bad thing. We wouldn't want to prevent a good thing, would we?
If we deny teens information about birth control and use the consequence of pregnancy as some sort of deterrent, we are subjecting them to a bad consequence (as concluded above). This fits the definition of punishment.
This is not that complicated.
BH | 04.03.08 07:23 AM
|
It is absolutely true that most "pro-lifers" believe that sex outside of marriage should be punished. (That's why many also have a problem with contraception.) "You made your bed, now go lie in it." Have that baby. Don't finish school. Marry that guy you don't know. You deserve it. Life as you knew it is over. All because you had sex without society's blessing.
There is something so backwards about this philosophy, so punitive, so stupid, frankly. Obama pointed this out in a nice way but the neanderthals still don't like the exposure. "A child is never a punishment," indeed. Except when it is.
Michael57 | 04.03.08 08:43 AM
|
Fact: Abstinence only sex education has punished young people who have sex, which is probably the majority of youths between 15 and 25. The United States has the highest STD's, and teen pregnancy rates of any developed country in the world.
Obama's campaign is about change, and moving beyond barriers that have held America back. Racism is one barrier, but another barrier is America's attitudes about preteen sex.
I commend Obama for having the guts to talk about this subject, a subject where politics often gets in the way of common sense.
Lisa | 04.03.08 08:56 AM
|
What is the opposite of a punishment? A reward? When a teen becomes pregnant from engaging un unprotected sex, is this child a reward? I think it is funny how the GOP noise machine jumped on this. If this is the best they have they are in trouble.
thomas | 04.03.08 09:04 AM
|
It amuses me when pro-life zealots rant that all pregnancies are equal. Forget 18, forget 16.
How about 14. How about a 14 year old girl who would have to make all sorts of sacrifices to bring a pregnancy to term, and then put the baby up for adoption because she could in no way be a responsible mother.
The "my way or the highway" zealots claim that there is just no problem with this. The teenager gives up sports, goes through morning sickness, gets teased and perhaps ostracized by her peers, has to miss school. And to top it off, has to go through the grueling labor of a delivery, pain that if given to men to extract information would be considered torture. And then go through the emotional pain of giving up her child.
No that is not punishment at all. That's the glory of God here. From the zealots point of view, it's all good, it's God's work.
No condom education for these kids here, which was Obama was talking about. No, for these zealots, more teenage pregnancies is the answer. That's what we get with abstinence education.
-PatrickBradish
PatrickBradish | 04.03.08 09:41 AM
|
It amuses me when pro-life zealots rant that all pregnancies are equal. Forget 18, forget 16.
How about 14. How about a 14 year old girl who would have to make all sorts of sacrifices to bring a pregnancy to term, and then put the baby up for adoption because she could in no way be a responsible mother.
The "my way or the highway" zealots claim that there is just no problem with this. The teenager gives up sports, goes through morning sickness, gets teased and perhaps ostracized by her peers, has to miss school. And to top it off, has to go through the grueling labor of a delivery, pain that if given to men to extract information would be considered torture. And then go through the emotional pain of giving up her child.
No that is not punishment at all. That's the glory of God here. From the zealots point of view, it's all good, it's God's work.
No condom education for these kids here, which was Obama was talking about. No, for these zealots, more teenage pregnancies is the answer. That's what we get with abstinence education.
-PatrickBradish
PatrickBradish | 04.03.08 09:41 AM
|
Ask an unwed, teenager who is pregnant with a child if they see their circumstance as a "blessing". Most would say absolutely not and feel they are being "punished" for their lapsed judgment in having sex too early without fully undertanding the consequences.
There is nothing words with the response. It was and honest one not tailored to score poltical points. As the mother of a teenaged boy I certainly would not want him or any young lady he might err in judgement with to be punished with a chil. Doesn't mean that we wouldn't love the baby with everything in us if that were to happen. But, I doubt any parent longs to have their children become parents while they are, in fact, still kids.
Get off your moral high horse, Noel. Just because he did not respond according to your script does not make his response wrong. I did not see in his response a push for abortion as a solution to teen pregnancy or STDs. What he offered was a suggestion for more information on the front end as a prevention.
Toni | 04.03.08 09:46 AM
|
it's a persons own choice what they do with their body it not he governments roll (or anybodies) else roll. let people choose what they want to do with thier bodies.
crazypawns | 04.03.08 10:48 AM
|
I agree completely with Obama's answer. Obama is in favor of arming his children with solid information about sex. What we have gotten from republicans is moralistic preaching and wishful thinking that abstinence only will work. Yet look at the results, an increase in STDs among teenagers. As we've heard over and over from this administration, "no one could have predicted ________" (fill in the blank with people flying planes into buildings, or levees being breeched . . . )
Haven't people seen enough of the results of the wishful, magical thinking of the faith-based crowd? We could use a whole lot more education, critical thinking, and reason in this society.
Charles | 04.03.08 10:48 AM
|
If there are exceptions for rape and incest - situations where the pregnancy wasn't the woman's "fault" - then obviously being forced to carry to term IS a punishment, isn't it?
Obama was completely right. It's the anti-abortion folks who are demeaning pregnancy and children by turning them into a punishment for sex, NOT the people who support a woman's right to choose.
Sarah | 04.03.08 10:48 AM
|
it's a persons own choice what they do with their body it not he governments roll (or anybodies) else roll. let people choose what they want to do with thier bodies.
crazypawns | 04.03.08 10:48 AM
|
it's a persons own choice what they do with their body it not he governments roll (or anybodies) else roll. let people choose what they want to do with thier bodies.
crazypawns | 04.03.08 10:49 AM
|
it's a persons own choice what they do with their body it not he governments roll (or anybodies) else roll. let people choose what they want to do with thier bodies.
crazypawns | 04.03.08 10:50 AM
|
Well the right wingers have to take offense at the term, "punishment"; it's a negative term, and inappropriate to describe one of God's gifts. The fact that requiring all pregnancies be carried to term reduces women to the status of brood mares does not occur to, or is ignored by them. I think that the Senator used an exquisitely correct word. What would you call an unwanted pregnancy for which simple corrective action is prohibited? The lewd women who have sex outside of religiously sanctioned heterosexual unions have no right to reject God's blessing, that's why they must not have a choice.
I've never understood their arguments against limiting family size in married couples though, I guess my empathic abilities are blighted.
charlie | 04.03.08 12:41 PM
|
The people who are protesting Obama don't care about what he said. They were NEVER going to vote for him.
Their protest is an excuse to get themselves self-righteuously riled up, (because if they really cared about life, they'd be protesting all the death Bush has unnecessarily created in Iraq), as well as a negotiating tactic.
Their message isn't to Obama, it's to McCain, warning him to move to the right and condemn abortion or risk losing them.
You watch, McCain will be asked to condemn what Obama said as proof of his right-wingnut credentials.
roooth | 04.03.08 03:32 PM
|
It seems to me that Obama was speaking more about providing information about abstinence,safe sex, and contraception - not necessarily just about abortion.
Information can effectively help people avoid making mistakes, avoid disease and unwanted pregnancies. Fewer unwanted pregnancies mean fewer abortions. Fewer STD's means less devastating disease. Frank exploration of alternatives can give young people a better chance to make good decisions. The anti-abortionist activists don't deal with reasonable discussions. This is about who controls a woman's body.
45387 | 04.03.08 03:44 PM
|
Yikes, this site is so incredibly pro-Obama. I think I'd like to see someone as President who actually is somewhat conversant in this issue and has some understanding of the wide spectrum of views--not just a knee-jerk reaction that Obama apparently now regrets. Will Obama judge all policy positions related to children based on how he feels about his 2 daughters? I worry about that. People can applaud him for his honesty, and I also see his answer as very revealing about the depth of his understanding of these complex issues.
Maybe saying something like, we can all agree that pregnant unmarried teens is not an ideal situation. That's the kind of comment that would have resonated with me.
And, what about the supportive society for a teenager who wants to carry her child? Oops, that's a choice maybe not too many on this site thinks possible? laudable? only held by the "right-wing"?
You folks are full of misconceptions about folks on the right and their views about abortion. Maybe it would make sense to have a real conversation with people who aren't enthusiastically pro-abortion! You might come to understand that name-calling is part of the problem here.
Betty | 04.09.08 08:40 AM
|
Post a comment
The Watergate · 600 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20037
202-739-8400 · fax 202-833-8069
NationalJournal.com is an Atlantic Media publication.
