Happy 4th of July!

Obama: Mental distress can't justify late abortion
By JIM KUHNHENN, AP
Posted: 2008-07-03 18:58:36
WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says "mental distress" should not qualify as a justification for late-term abortions, a key distinction not embraced by many supporters of abortion rights.

In an interview this week with "Relevant," a Christian magazine, Obama said prohibitions on late-term abortions must contain "a strict, well defined exception for the health of the mother."

Obama then added: "Now, I don't think that 'mental distress' qualifies as the health of the mother. I think it has to be a serious physical issue that arises in pregnancy, where there are real, significant problems to the mother carrying that child to term."

Maybe it's time to detox off the Koolaide NARAL. How much did you get paid?

Oh and his Christian Faith Based leanings. You were fools and the flip flop man will sell women out on a dime.

Can Naral please give us their opinion of Obama's views on mental health and the mother comment? Thanks.

“A health exception must also account for the mental health problems that may occur in pregnancy. Severe fetal anomalies, for example, can exact a tremendous emotional toll on a pregnant woman and her family.” -Naral

"As a Christian, I cannot claim infallibility in my support of abortion rights." -Barack Obama

Which WE TOLD YOU NARAL BEFORE YOU ENDORSED THIS GUY! You sold us out!

Hey, NARAL, are you still standing by your man?

I thought your position was this:

"A health exception must also account for the mental health problems that may occur in pregnancy. Severe fetal anomalies, for example, can exact a tremendous emotional toll on a pregnant woman and her family."

I guess it is just dandy that he has no core values and flip-flops when he is pandering to the evangelicals.

I can’t believe that Obama has this view. He has 2 daughters.
For me, mental distress qualified as the health of the mother.

Women are not cows. Who care about mental distress of a pregnant cow. As long as the cow is physically strong enough to deliver the calf, the farmer is happy.

I'm still shaking my head in disbelief that the Democrat Nominee has this view. And NARAL endorsed this man?!

Oh, how I miss Hillary.

I'm so sorry for you Nancy! Can I offer you a towel for that mud on your face?

I guess Naral didn't mind when the DNC Rules and Bylaws committee took 4 delegates away from Hillary in MI and GAVE them to Barack with NO explanation. That is the equivilant of 20,000 voters' votes. And that would be over 10,000 women who wanted to make sure their rights were DEFENDED! Not SOLD OUT TO VOTES OF CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVES. Way to go Naral. you sold us out. And for WHAT?

Nzone71,

He is not the democratic nominee, he is the Presumptive Democratic Nominee. He isn't the nom until Denver.

google puma pac and just say no deal, and fight the skewed election.

Without his TELEprompter he does not know what his stance is.

WASHINGTON (AP) by J. Kuhnhenn

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says "mental distress" should not qualify as a justification for late-term abortions, a key distinction not embraced by many supporters of abortion rights.

*********

NARAL what in the H*** are you thinking endorsing Obama? What is the matter with you?

*&%##!@

HRCin08, maybe NARAL "trusts women to be prayerful" too.

Notice how his b.s. always falls on a friday, it's so it doesn't make the weekday news.

By supporting Obama without really knowing him (see below), you have betrayed women here who have fought long and hard to maintain abortion right/reproductive rights. Shame on you!

Obama supporters insist that female PUMAs have to support him because of the Supreme Court and abortion. Well, he’s just changed his position, saying “mental distress” is not a justification for late-term abortions.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080703/ap_on_el_pr/obama_abortion;_ylt=aj7vr6qvuzyzr4oz61rn262s0nue
He’s sounding like Justices Thomas and Scalia.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/legalities/2008/07/obama-sounding.html
in a recent interview, obama appears to back away from his long-stated positions on abortion (and a proposed federal abortion rights law he had co-sponsored), repudiate 35 years of accepted supreme court rulings on the issue and embrace a view on abortion restrictions that has been expressed on the court only by justices thomas and scalia.

I am sure that NARAL will help him weasel out of this. Of course, we will know it for what it is. They just endorsed him in the first place because of George Soros's money no doubt.

JayM, the worst part is that they DID defend him. And without so much as saying: he's still very much pro-choice but we disagree with that view. Instead they said "it doesn't conflict with Roe v. wade and he opposes Bush's ban" but it does conflict with their own view AND Doe v. Borgen. It's pretty amazing that Naral would rather cover their own ass, than educate women. UN.REAL.

Check this part of the article out:

"The health care exception is crucial to abortion rights advocates and is considered a legal loophole by abortion opponents. By limiting the health exception to a "serious physical issue," Obama set himself apart from other abortion rights proponents.

"The official position of NARAL Pro-Choice America, the abortion rights group that endorsed Obama in May, states: "A health exception must also account for the mental health problems that may occur in pregnancy. Severe fetal anomalies, for example, can exact a tremendous emotional toll on a pregnant woman and her family."

The 1973 landmark abortion case, Roe v. Wade, established a right to an abortion, and a concurrent case, Doe v. Bolton, established that medical judgments about the need for an abortion could include physical, emotional and psychological health factors.

In a statement, NARAL Pro-Choice said Obama's magazine interview is consistent with Roe v. Wade.

"Sen. Obama has consistently said he supports the tenets set forth by Roe, and has made strong statements against President Bush's Federal Abortion Ban, which does not have an exception to protect a woman's health," the organization's statement said.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080703/D91MKQ681.html

Naral is no longer credible.

I don't give a fig what NARAL says Obama said BEFORE he was the presumptive Democratic nominee. And indeed he did say what they said he said. But, as with FISA and Iraq and many other things, that ain't what he's saying now. Because it's a holiday, I'll give NARAL a break. Till next week. Obama has already lost me. We'll see if NARAL loses my money and support as well. I do HOPE NOT!

My husband and I have stopped supporting NARAL since they endorsed Obama (while Hillary was still in the fight.) The only way NARAL can get us back is by taking back the endorsement and saying Shame on Obama. He's also accused the pro-choice side of making a mistake in not acknowledging the "wrenching moral issues" involved. He is the one who does not understand and has shown how uncomfortable he is with the issue by his multiple votes of "present."

When I heard NARAL was slapping Hillary Clinton in the face by endorsing Obama last May it made my blood boil.

And now NARAL is defending Obama's blatant breaking with NARAL's position in order to pander to the religious right?!

I don't know what happened to this organization or the Democratic party for that matter.

What a disappointment. NARAL needs to dig deep on this one.

I agree with the poster above. They need to TAKE BACK THE ENDORSEMENT and give it to Clinton.

Or they will have lost ALL credibility.

NARAL lost me when they endorsed Obama. Let them twist in the wind with their MAN.

I didn't realize Nancy K., president of naral, had been a teacher for 18 years. You would think she would be appalled at the obvious attempt from Barack Obama's campaign to use children under 12 for votes. He has 10 steps for children under 12 on his website. They include:

-Throw an obama sleepover.
-Print out the logo, color it in a post it in your home or school.
-Bring an adult to the polls and encourage them to vote for you by voting for obama
-throw an obama party (and then they procede to encourage children to post their address in public places and invite strangers to their homes)

Everyone here, google obama for kids and check out this disgusting mechanism by obama to get votes and to indoctrinate children. They even write at the end "ones you have completed this you will find you are very dedicated to the cause". It's really disgsusting.

Obama is not Pro-Choice:

Speaking to reporters on his campaign plane, Obama said mental health exceptions—which are a real battleground issue in the abortion debate--can be "rigorously" limited to only those women with "serious clinical mental health diseases." He said mental health exceptions are not intended permit abortions when a woman simply "doesn't feel good."

"It is not just a matter of feeling blue," Obama said.

Here's the problem with that, and why Obama's remarks are so startling. Obama is trying to restrict abortions after 22 weeks to those women who have a serious disease or illness. But the law today also covers some women who are in "mental distress," those women who would suffer emotional and psychological harm without an abortion.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/legalities/2008/07/obama-revisits.htm

when is NARAL going to respond to these recent comments by their golden boy? those of us who were willing to give you a second chance EXPECT to hear from you soon.

As a clinical psychologist, I'm appalled at Obama's dismissive remarks about mental illness. Severe depression or psychosis can result in suicide, which is just as fatal as any "physical" illness! Just as Obama has lately changed his mind on a number of positions, I hope NARAL will change its mind too -- Please, PLEASE rescind your endorsement of Obama, and endorse the true pro-choice candidate, Hillary Clinton. And for you other Democrats who are disenchanted with Obama, please check out justsaynodeal.com and The Denver Group. The superdelegates can still change their minds as well. We have the right to demand that our state's superdelegates listen to our voice before casting their vote at convention.

Lest we forget some history. Senator Obama was endorsed by anti-abortion Senator Bob Casey, Jr. Casey voted to confirm Roberts and Alito. Remember it was his father who, as governor of PA, pushed for the enactment of the Pennsylvania Abortion Control Act. This resulted in the Supreme Court case Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which redefined Roe with an undue burden test and left stand all but one of PA's abortion restrictions. Pennsylvania, a swing state, is not going to be any easy state for Obama to win. Senator Obama will flush the pro-choice community down the drain if it means winning PA.

Now he is trying to clarify his comments. Too bad he doesn't understand that "partial birth abortion" is a right wing political term. Remember when Kate Michelman said that? Now, Senator Obama is using right-wing language to clarify his stance. NARAL, again, you should have trained him better in the language of the pro-choice community.

Lafayette?

Bob Casey wasn't in the Senate when Roberts and Alito were confirmed. Thought you'd like to know.

Thanks for the correcting me.

Hillary Clinton For President in 2008!

No more money for you NARAL, ever!

THANKS, NARAL!!

In a country where the MAJOR CAUSE OF DEATH AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN IS MURDER, USUALLY BY THE VERY MAN WHO IMPREGNATED THEM, psychological & emotional factors, such as distress, MUST be taken into account!!

Obama was speaking to a "Christian magazine". Hey NARAL: Still don't get how Obama functions??

GOD, HOW THIS SICKENS ME! HILLARY WOULD NEVER SELL US OUT!!

Naral, you have got to throw Obama under the bus! What were you guys thinking when you endorsed him?! Hillary was still in the race! I hope you learned your lesson. Please reject, denounce, and distance yourselves from this disaster of a candidate for the sake of American women. (I say this after consulting with my doctor, my pastor, and my family.)

Here's how Nancy's best choice for the NARAL endorsement explains away his initial views:

"...My only point is that in an area like partial-birth abortion having a mental, having a health exception can be defined rigorously. It can be defined through physical health, It can be defined by serious clinical mental-health diseases. It is not just a matter of feeling blue...."

Nancy, how many pregnant women each year wake up one day feeling a bit "blue" and decide to make an appointment for a late term abortion for a quick pick-me-up? Right...not too many.

" Obama: “My only point is this — historically I have been a strong believer in a women’s right to choose with her doctor, her pastor and her family. And it is ..I have consistently been saying that you have to have a health exception on many significant restrictions or bans on abortions including late-term abortions..."

Nancy, is it the new policy of the NARAL that a woman's right to choose is a decision that involves HER DOCTOR, HER PASTOR, AND HER FAMILY???

This is Kirsten in the communications department at NARAL Pro-Choice America. We've read your comments, and here is some more information for you.

Sen. Obama's record is solidly pro-choice. He has articulated the need for the health exception in Roe v. Wade on a number of occasions:

• Sen. Obama spoke out forcefully against the Supreme Court’s decision in 2007 upholding the Bush Federal Abortion Ban and specifically cited the ban’s lack of health exception and why that threatened Roe as the principal reason he opposed it. When the decision came out he said:

  "I strongly disagree with today's Supreme Court ruling, which dramatically departs from previous precedents safeguarding the health of pregnant women. As Justice Ginsburg emphasized in her dissenting opinion, this ruling signals an alarming willingness on the part of the conservative majority to disregard its prior rulings respecting a woman's medical concerns and the very personal decisions between a doctor and patient. I am extremely concerned that this ruling will embolden state legislatures to enact further measures to restrict a woman's right to choose, and that the conservative Supreme Court justices will look for other opportunities to erode Roe v. Wade, which is established federal law and a matter of equal rights for women." [Statement from Sen. Obama on Supreme Court Decision upholding Federal Abortion Ban, April 18, 2007]

• He is also an original cosponsor of the Freedom of Choice Act, which would codify the health exception into federal law.

The statement you have supplied is not inconsistent with his statement to the magazine and is also not inconsistent with excluding mental health.

I thought your job was to educate people. Stop covering your ass.

It's simple, NARAL, the Nation Magazine and all other progressives who helped Obama win the nomination did so without getting any firm positions from the candidate. Now he doesn't need them. Great, Obama's statements were ill informed, cowardly, and condescending to women. Good job NARAL, and Kirsten, how about being forthright about the comments. Perhaps you should first consult with your family, your doctor, and your pastor, or perhaps you were just feeling blue about his NUANCED statement. Oh, but right, you have the big picture in mind, a pro-choice victory with Obama. Consider this, just how do you think Obama is going to reach across the isle to Republicans? Abortion and social security come to mind. Adolph Reed in the Progressive Magazine had it right, Obama is a neo-liberal con-man whose multiple positions on everything are catching up with him.

Kristen,

Do you actually believe your own BS? Are you any relation to Dana Perino? Because none of what you said addressed Obama's abandonment of pregnant women with mental health issues...

Kirsten in the communications department at NARAL, what in the world is wrong with this organization?! Where are your comments on your candidate's JULY 2008 statements regarding a woman's right to choice?

NOZ...Don't worry, NARAL has turned pro-life, or at least less pro-choice then they supposedly were. Besides, you're in luck! Many pro-choicers will be voting AGAINST the NARAL and Obama this November with a vote for McCain. It's time to put these faux women activists groups out of business and clean up the democracy industry.