Obama’s Avoidance of Discussing the Abortion Issue May Be Derailed

Throughout his campaign and since he entered office, Mr. Obama has done his best to distract abortion opponents from his real views through his rhetoric while passing many pro-abortion bills or reversing former President Bush’s pro-life regulations.  The issue is coming back to the forefront of public debate, however, due to two events:  the famous Catholic University of Notre Dame has engaged President Obama to give the graduation speech at their commencement this spring, and Supreme Court Judge David Souter’s retirement, which leaves the President with the opportunity to select a lifetime judge.

Obama’s goal thus far seems to have been to keep the eyes of the nation focused on the economy and other issues as he has pushed quickly but quietly for pro-choice legislation, to avoid having to confront his actual stand on the issue.  He has verbally painted himself as more moderate on the issues, while his actions continue to  indicate his true far-left views on abortion issues, as the New York Times points out (emphasis mine):

Mr. Obama frames his position on abortion as a nuanced one — he calls it a “a moral and ethical issue” best left to women and doctors — and he envisions himself forging consensus around causes like reducing unintended pregnancies and promoting adoption.  As president, Mr. Obama, who during the campaign answered a question about when human life begins by saying it was “above my pay grade,” has tried to straddle the abortion divide.  He has done so partly by reaching out to religious conservatives, partly by avoiding the most contentious legislative battles and partly by reversing the policies of his predecessor, George W. Bush, a faithful ally of abortion opponents, in piecemeal fashion — all while the nation has been consumed by the economic crisis.

He has named abortion rights advocates to top jobs; Dawn Johnsen, a former legal director of Naral Pro-Choice America, is his pick to run the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel. He has repealed the so-called Mexico City rule, which prohibited tax dollars from going to organizations that provide abortions overseas; lifted Mr. Bush’s limits on embryonic stem cell research; stripped financing for abstinence-only sex education; and is seeking to undo a last-minute Bush regulation giving broad protections to health providers who refuse to take part in abortions.

Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said she told allies that their movement was emerging from “eight years in the wilderness.”

Clearly, Ms. Richards has no illusions about where Obama’s loyalty truly lies, but Obama has heretofore attempted to skirt the issue when confronted.   Being asked to give a commencement speech at a prominent Catholic University, however, has refocused the attention of the nation on his views on the issue.  Protests are being organized at the university that target the issues of abortion and Obama’s stance on it, and outrage that Notre Dame even extended the invitation to the President in light of his decisions on the matter.  Some of the President’s advisors have suggested that he address the issue in part of his commencement speech, but it is likely that all we will see is more of his “Moderate rhetoric, hard-left policies,” as Kansas senator Sam Brownback puts it, rather than honesty.