Note in particular this line: "The first thing I'll do as President is sign the Freedom of Choice Act."
What is the Freedom of Choice Act?
Senator Barbara Boxer, co-sponser of the bill, has said: "The Freedom of Choice Act supercedes any law, regulation or local ordinance that impinges on a woman’s right to choose. That means a poor woman cannot be denied the use of Medicaid if she chooses to have an abortion." In other words, state governments and the federal government would be mandated to fund abortion with taxpayer money.
David Freddoso (The Case Against Barack Obama) elaborates on what this bill entails:
This bill would effectively cancel every state, federal, and local regulation of abortion, no matter how modest or reasonable. It would even, according to the National Organization of Women, abolish all state restrictions on government funding for abortions. If Obama becomes president and lives up to this promise, then everyone who pays income tax will be paying an abortionist to perform an abortion.In making this promise, Freddoso writes, Obama is promising:
- to abolish state laws that protect doctors and nurses from losing their jobs if they refuse to participate in abortions
- to abolish requirements for parental notification and informed consent for mothers who consider the procedure
Obama is one of the very few pro-choice advocates who accepts no restrictions on late-term abortions, or any kind of abortions. I could find no instance in his entire career in which he voted for any regulation or restriction on the practice of abortion.