Catholics United False Ad Claims John McCain Not Pro-Life on Abortion
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 17, 2008
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A so-called Catholic group that supports Barack Obama is running a new television ad in battleground states claiming Sen. John McCain is not pro-life on abortion. The ad doesn’t mention any abortion-related votes but claims McCain voted against supporting pregnant women and supports troops in Iraq.
Catholics United is a 527 special interest group that is airing a new television ad in Pennsylvania and Ohio that challenges his pro-life views.
The group said its ad will begin Friday and run for seven days on cable television in "highly Catholic areas" of the two states.
The ad features a woman who says she is a mother of three children and pro-life.
"John McCain, it’s not enough to say you’re pro-life, actions speak louder than words," the actress says. "You voted against one of the largest support programs for pregnant women."
The ad is misleading because it never mentions what votes McCain supposedly cast that are against pregnant women.
Catholics United appears to be targeting McCain for voting with most pro-life advocates against a bill to expand the SCHIP program, which provides health insurance for poor children. He did so because the program was expanded to such a level that the federal government couldn’t afford it.
The group ran radio ads against a handful of lawmakers back in October 2007 for the same reason.
However, the new television commercial fails to mention that some lawmakers objected to the bill because it originally reversed a Bush administration policy helping poor pregnant women avoid abortions.
Douglas Johnson, the legislative director for National Right to Life, told LifeNews.com at the time that his group had to take a neutral position on the bill because neither the House or Senate, under pro-abortion Democratic leadership, would codify the pro-life Bush policy.
"They had their chance to put something in there for the pro-life community, and they batted it down,” he said.
The new Catholics United ad also attacks McCain for supporting involvement in Iraq, saying, he "voted for a war that has killed thousands of Americans."
However, the ad makes no mention of how abortion kills 1.3 million Americans every year and injures countless thousands of women medically, spiritually and emotionally.
Abortion advocates appear to disagree with Catholics United, as the leading pro-abortion group NARAL has given McCain a 96 percent pro-life voting rating for the votes he cast as a member of the House and Senate.
McCain served in the U.S. House from 1983 to 1986 and in the U.S. Senate since 1987. During that time, NARAL has given him only a 4 percent pro-abortion voting record — including a rating of 0 from 2002 through 2007.
Conversely, the National Right to Life Committee has endorsed McCain and said he has a strongly pro-life voting record and has supported bills to ban partial-birth abortions, respect parental involvement regarding teenagers and prohibit tax-funded abortions in a variety of situations.
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