"At what point does a baby get human rights, in your view?" Most people have a ready answer to this question. A "pro-life" supporter will generally point to conception, while a "pro-choice" proponent will often point to birth. There are a variety of opinions, but the average person does have an opinion. Not Barack Obama. He wouldn't answer this most basic question about human rights.
Senator Obama's response to Reverend Rick Warren's question during the Saddleback Civil Forum on the Presidency was, "Well, I think that whether you're looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade." He went on to state that he is "pro-choice", but that both sides should "find common ground" by seeking to "reduce the number of abortions." Still he refused to answer the question of what constitutes a human being worthy of rights and protections.
You would think a man who studied at Harvard and Columbia and who is running for the office of President of the United States would have taken the time to figure out his position on this controversial question. After all, abortion remains one of the most polarizing issues of our time. This single issue is dispositive—one way or the other—for millions of voters. Perhaps that accounts for the ambiguity.
If Mr. Obama is ambiguous about the issue, the scientific evidence is not. Science demonstrates unequivocally that life begins at conception. Within 24 hours after fertilization the human egg begins to divide, producing more and more cells. Through this process, the embryo and the outer membranes which nourish and protect it are formed. When the egg is fertilized, 23 chromosomes from each parent join to form the 46 chromosomes of a unique new person. These chromosomes will dictate many of the child's physical characteristics, including sex, eye and hair color, height, and even intelligence to some extent. This process is simple, yet profound, and it occurs at conception.
Notwithstanding the uncontroverted scientific evidence, Senator Obama insists he simply is not qualified to form an opinion on when a baby becomes a human. Perhaps his refusal to answer the question is rooted in a desire to hide the implications of his voting record. While in the Illinois Senate, he first voted against the Induced Infant Liability Act, and later refused to bring it forward in committee for a vote. This Act would have mandated medical care for babies who survive an attempted abortion (they are "born alive"), and it would have prevented hospitals and doctors from putting these babies aside to die. The national version of this bill—the Born Alive Infant Protection Act—passed through the U.S. House with only fifteen dissenting votes, and it passed through the U.S. Senate unanimously. Even the extremist abortion advocacy group NARAL Pro-Choice America did not oppose passage of the Born Alive Infant Protection Act. Nevertheless, Senator Obama, proving to be more extreme, opposed the Illinois bill, thereby denying legal protection for these babies.
Refusing medical care to babies who are born alive after a failed abortion is infanticide, plain and simple. Barack Obama's rhetoric and voting record indicate he believes otherwise. The Senator, who once equated having a baby to being punished, feels that denying a woman and her doctor the right to kill her newborn child would wrongly burden the woman. He summed up his opposition by saying, "What we are doing here [with this bill] is to create one more burden on a woman and I can't support that."
Senator Obama's voting record doesn't end there. In the Illinois Senate, he opposed the partial-birth abortion ban, and in the U.S. Congress he co-sponsored the Freedom of Choice Act which would have removed nearly all state and federal restrictions on abortion. He also voted against legislation in Congress which would have required an abortionist to notify the parents of an underage girl seeking an abortion. If Senator Obama is incapable of determining when a baby gains human rights, why is he capable of making these weighty legislative decisions?
Truth be told, Senator Obama appears to have preferred bobbing and weaving to offering a straight answer. A straight answer was inevitably going to alienate at least one group of voters who hold strong views. But is that the kind of leadership America needs? Ambiguous answers in the face of hard questions?
Please Mr. Obama. Tell it to us straight. At what point does a baby get human rights? Lives depend on the way you answer that question.
Ken Connor is the Chairman of the Center for a Just Society in Washington, DC, the former President of the Family Research Council, and a nationally recognized trial lawyer.
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Well the website keeps taking down my post even though I don't use profanity or break any of their rules but your correct. God does create all homosexuals. They don't come about just because they decided they wanted to sin. Most suicides are gay teens not wanting to be gay. So if they chose to be gay in the first place and it lead them to kill themselves then they could just stop being gay in your eyes. But this isn't the case. 1000's of gay kids are killing them selves because they would rather be dead then live the life of a gay person. They are made fun of, beat up, excluded from being around others, and sometimes even killed. We know there are gay animals and gay birds and gay fish and gay humans. They are a natural part of earth which God created. If I were to ask you what makes you straight you couldn't give me an explanation other then I just am. Well it's the same for gay people. Do you know our military is fighting hand in hand with gay soldiers from England who can serve openly. Our soldiers find the gay British soldiers very good at what they do and never once has their gayness kept them from exemplary work. Hate is where you get your dislike of gay people. You can call it sin or you can say they choose to live like that but in reality you are spreading hate. Nothing more nothing less.
LoveThyNeighbor by saying that because homosexuals are created by God they are not sinning, you are saying that sin does not exist because God created everything. Yet the Bible says otherwise on many occasions. God created man yes, but he created man with freewill. Which means it is up to man on whether he follows God or his own ambition. Being a Christian means you are having to take the narrow gate and it means that you might have to go against the current. For some it is harder than others. You could be someone born into a nurturing Christian household and only have to face your own demons to come to terms with God. Or you may be a convert from Islam having to face the possibility of death from your own parents while trying to grow in faith. The struggles of each brother in Christ is different from the next but we all share the common bond of putting down our burdens and taking the cross. Most of that suffering comes from the one theme that you will find reoccurring over and over again in the bible, and that is obedience. In the old testament God sought obedience from the Jews through the law and in the new testament he sought obedience from man through love. If we love our father then we listen to his every word because we know that the guidance he gives us is for our own good. Love isn't always about what makes you feel good inside. Love is about dedication and service even when you don't like what is happening. We know that God will not take advantage of our love to him by looking at the word and this is why people stray from the church because they doubt him. Love takes faith to count on the other person that they have your back even if you feel like you are in a free fall and no one can catch you. God did not create Homosexuals so he could perfect the human race, on the contrary each flaw that we are born with is created so that we may Glorify God. Someone who is born with the homosexual "gene" might not be able to resist their emotions or physical attraction on their own but with God they can. It might not make sense to someone who feels that they have genuine love for someone of the same sex but what is more important the father or their partner. The first commandment is love thy father with all thy heart. It is a choice whether there is a "gene" or not.
When will Gay American Have Human/Civil Rights.
If God Didn't Make Homosexuals, There Wouldn't Be Any!