There are a collection of accusations that conservatives make against Senators Barack Obama and Joseph Biden that purport to demonstrate that the Democrats have a morally indefensible stance on abortion. But a closer look shows that these often-repeated arguments suffer from two deep flaws: the criticisms are often stated in absolute terms, that suggest a lack of openness by the Democrats to finding common ground solutions, and the conservatives narrow the agenda to exclude consideration of a host of economic and social approaches to abortion reduction that they oppose.
Emblematic of these arguments were those offered by Richard Garnett, a law school faculty member at Notre Dame with whom I appeared on an ABC broadcast Friday, Oct 16, 2008. After listening to a clip of Senator Obama talking about abortion in the final presidential debate earlier that week, Dr Garnett said that Senator Obama opposed the use of criminal law to restrict abortion in all circumstances, stating, "He opposes extending legal protection to children," and later, "He believes the exclusion of the law is absolute." He also insisted that Senator Obama wanted to overturn the Supreme Court decision supporting the intact fetal birth abortion ban.
But the moderator, Fr Edward Beck, corrected him, noting that Senator Obama had indicated otherwise during the debate, saying, "I am completely supportive of a ban on late-term abortions, partial-birth or otherwise, as long as there's an exception for the mother's health and life." Senator Obama has frequently indicated in public that he sought to amend such legislation in the Illinois State Senate to make provisions for the life and health of the mother, but that the Republican sponsors had opposed provisions like these that were at the heart of the initial Roe-v-Wade decision.
In other words, like most Americans, Senator Obama is in favor of some legal restrictions on late term abortions. And he demonstrated a willingness to work with Republicans to craft an intact fetal birth abortion ban that was compatible with existing law on abortion. So Dr Garnett's assertions on both counts were wrong.
Dr Garnett also made a point of raising the issue of public funding for abortions, which the Democratic Party Platform supports. He did not acknowledge that there is a difference of opinion on this issue among Democrats, for instance with Senators Biden and Obama holding different views on the matter. Conservatives tend to exaggerate the benefit of the Hyde Amendment, which restricts federal funding of abortion. Dr Garnett suggested that taxpayers should not be "forced" to pay with their taxes for abortions, as if electing Senator Obama was a referendum that would determine the outcome on this issue.
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