Chicago, Ill., Aug 22, 2008 / 14:58 pm
U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, faces further criticism concerning the former Illinois state senator’s explanations of his opposition to an Illinois bill that would have protected infants who survive an abortion. While he has claimed that his opposition derived from concern that the law would be used to undermine Roe v. Wade and Illinois state law concerning abortion, a 2002 transcript from the Illinois Senate shows that Obama also opposed the bill because he believed requiring a second doctor to evaluate and care for a potential survivor of a botched abortion would be too burdensome on the abortionist and on the woman who decided to have the abortion.
The Illinois version of the Born Alive Infants’ Protection Act (BAIPA) was supported by Jill Stanek, a nurse who discovered that infants who survived abortions in an Illinois hospital were being left to die in soiled utility rooms.
Erick Erickson, writing on RedState.com, reported his discovery of an April 4, 2002 exchange between Obama and state Senator Patrick O’Malley, a sponsor of BAIPA. The exchange reveals Obama’s contemporary motives for opposing the bill.
The transcript of the State of Illinois’ 92nd General Assembly regular session records Obama criticizing BAIPA: