Planned Parenthood Backs Barack Obama to Reward Pro-Abortion Position
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 8, 2008
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business, made it official on Monday and issued its presidential endorsement for Barack Obama. The group rewarded the senator for his speech last year, where he pledged to only appoint abortion advocates to the Supreme Court.
“The Planned Parenthood Action Fund is proud to endorse Barack Obama for president of the United States,” president Cecile Richards said in a press release LifeNews.com obtained.
Richards called him a "passionate advocate" with a "a long and consistent record of standing up for" unlimited abortions.
She said Obama has committed to investing "in prevention programs, including family planning services" — meaning Obama will keep or expand the hundreds of millions of dollars the abortion business receives in taxpayer funds.
Obama participated in a conference call today with Planned Parenthood leaders and activists and said, “As president I’ll make sure women have access to [abortion]."
"I thank you for your endorsement and your leadership," he added.
The press release indicates Obama has received a perfect record from the pro-abortion group on votes in the United States Senate.
In a July 17th, 2007 speech to Planned Parenthood, Obama said he would "not yield" on abortion and attacked the Supreme Court decision saying the national ban on partial-birth abortions is constitutional.
"There will always be people, many of goodwill, who do not share my view on the issue of choice. On this fundamental issue, I will not yield and Planned Parenthood will not yield," he said.
This is only the second time Planned Parenthood has endorsed a presidential candidate, with the first coming in the 2004 elections as it backed John Kerry.
However, Obama’s pro-abortion views likely won’t help him win votes.
A new poll reveals a majority of Americans take a pro-life position on abortion and that pro-life Americans outnumber pro-abortion Americans by a 16 percent margin. The survey also found the issue of abortion gives presidential candidate John McCain an eight point advantage over Obama.
Conducted by the Polling Company in June, the poll finds 54 percent of Americans take one of three pro-life positions on abortion and just 38 percent take a pro-abortion position.
The poll also found 30 percent of voters say that the issue of abortion will affect their vote, with 20 percent of self-identified pro-life voters saying so and only 9 percent of pro-abortion voters saying so.
Breaking down the numbers further, 17 percent of voters said they would only vote for a candidate who shares their view on abortion, regardless of that view. Looking at that group, 12 percent said they would only vote for a pro-life candidate and just 4 percent said they would only support a candidate who backs abortion.
That gives pro-life candidates, like McCain, an eight percent advantage on the issue of abortion, says David O’Steen, the executive director of National Right to Life.
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