Barack Obama Confronted by Abortion Protesters at New Hampshire Rally 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 8, 2008
Rochester, NH (LifeNews.com) — About 20 pro-life protesters made the leading Democratic presidential candidate confront the issue of abortion on Monday when they interspersed themselves in a rally he held at the Rochester Opera House. Obama had just begun speaking at the Monday night event when the pro-life advocates waved signs and chanted.
The protesters, members of the Christian Defense Coalition and the youth-oriented group Survivors, shut down the Obama campaign rally chanting "abortion is an Obama-nation."
The chant was a play on the phrase "abortion is an abomination."
The crowd, estimated by the Concord Monitor newspaper at about 850, began booing and chanted Obama’s signature cheer, "Fired up, ready to go" in an attempt to drown out the protesters.
According to the Monitor, Obama said he had heard their chants and would be happy to talk with the pro-life group after the event.
"This is an example of no one hearing each other," he said as he held up his hands in an attempt to quiet both sides.
The pro-life advocates were eventually led out of the facility peacefully and no one was arrested. Once the crowd quieted down, Obama commented on the incident.
"Some people get organized to do that, and that’s part of the American tradition that we’re proud of," he said, according to the Monitor. "That’s hard to do — standing in the midst of people who don’t agree with you."
After the incident, Rev. Patrick Mahoney, who spearheaded the group of protesters, told LifeNews.com, "Tragically Senator Obama supports a radical pro-abortion position which is a betrayal of human rights and social justice."
"We will continue throughout the Presidential campaign to peacefully and prayerfully challenge Senator Obama to support the dignity and sanctity of all human life," he added.
Danielle Versluys, one of the younger protesters and a member of the youth pro-life group, added that Obama’s pro-abortion views are "unacceptable."
"Until Senator Obama adopts a pro-life position, the Survivors will continue to challenge him to stop the war on our generation," she promised.
