New Ad Targets Obama’s Failure to Protect Babies Born Alive After Abortions By Fred Lucas

Source: http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=35747

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

(CNSNews.com) – A pro-life group has launched an ad featuring an abortion survivor and highlighting Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s opposition to the “born alive infant protection act” when he was an Illinois state senator.

The 30-second spot began airing Monday. It features the voice of Gianna Jessen, who survived a botched abortion attempt 31 years ago. She points out that on four different occasions, Obama voted against the “Illinois Born Alive Infant Defined Act.”

The ad calls on Obama to support protections for infants who are born alive after failed abortions.

Obama, now representing Illinois in the U.S. Senate, has come under fire for his past opposition to protecting babies who survived abortions. His position is considered to the left of the top abortion supporters in Congress, such as Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) who voted for the federal Born Alive Infants Protection Act but maintains a 100 percent rating with NARAL-Pro Choice America. The federal ban passed the Senate 98-0 before Obama was elected to the Senate.

The ad begins with Jessen saying, “Can you imagine not giving babies their basic human rights, no matter how they entered our world? My name is Gianna Jessen, born 31 years ago after a failed abortion. I’m a survivor, as are many others…but if Barack Obama had his way, I wouldn’t be here.” (See ad)

“Four times, Barack Obama voted to oppose a law to protect babies left to die after a failed abortion. Senator Obama, please support born alive infant protections. I’m living proof these babies have a right to live.”

In August, Obama criticized the National Right to Life Committee for bringing up the issue.

“I hate to say that people are lying, but here's a situation where folks are lying,” Obama said during an interview with CBN News.

“I have said repeatedly that I would have been completely, fully in support of the federal bill that everybody supported -- which was to say -- that you should provide assistance to any infant that was born -- even if it was as a consequence of an induced abortion. That was not the bill that was presented at the state level. What that bill also was doing was trying to undermine Roe vs. Wade.”

However, according to other Illinois state lawmakers, that is not entirely true.

CNSNews.com Editor in Chief Terence Jeffrey first reported in January that Obama opposed the Illinois state born-alive bills in 2001, 2002 and 2003. The 2003 bill was assigned to the Illinois Senate Health and Human Services committee that Obama chaired. (See story)

The 2003 version of the state proposal mirrored the federal law in that it had specific language stating that nothing in that law should be construed to undermine the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision.

Despite the language in the amendment, the bill failed in committee on a 4-6 vote. Obama, in the majority, voted no.