Barack Obama on abortion

October 8, 4:32 PMTampa Politics ExaminerJim Stillman

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Issues regarding the morality and the legal consequences of abortion have become a major issue by which voters are asked to choose our next president. There are several problems with the elevation of that topic, as ell as gun control laws and the Federal and interstate recognition of same-sex marriage in political discourse.

Abortion, along with the other mentioned “issues”, as Federal issues, has Constitutional ramifications going far afield. We live in a Federal, pluralistic society and issues like states’ rights, unheard for over 150 years are now brought to the fore. The difficulties will be the subject of future posts.

As to abortion rights, Obama considers this a part of a set of principles supporting and emphasizing the health, income and health of women; he terms the rights and limitations as part of programs to ensure women’s reproductive rights.

According to his official website, Obama’s position essentially includes:

• Concurrence with Roe v Wade which referring to the Constitutional right of privacy, a right found in the “penumbra” of the Bill of Rights, “discovered” a right to abortion – perhaps with subtle limitations;

• He does not have a firm stand on when “life” from a purely legal view point. He recognizes that members of different faiths hold divergent views and that affording unborn fetuses, at any stage of development, full independent rights is not appropriate; and

• Wants increased funding of sex education in schools, teaching about contraception as well as abstinence, on the ground that more available information will reduce unwanted pregnancies.

There are subtleties and sub-issues galore. I will be exploring some of them in future articles.