McCain Mockingly Suggests That Concerns For A Mother's Health Are Extreme

The differences of opinion surrounding the issue of access to safe and legal abortion, and a woman's right to choose to have one, have long been a mainstay of political debate. But tonight, I believe, featured a historical moment in that debate, because until tonight, I had never seen the matter of a woman's health given AIR SCARE QUOTES. But that's precisely what John McCain did, sneeringly, as he attempted to portray support for a mother's health as an extreme position, when in fact, it is a mainstream position -- ground that even fervent pro-life individuals often concede.

Reached for comment, Megan Carpentier of womens' issues blog Jezebel had this to say:

It used to be that McCain was leading the charge to reform the Republican platform to include exceptions for the life and health of the mother to their anti-abortion plank. That tonight he declared his own position extreme -- let alone called a woman that chooses her own continued existence over the potential future life of a fetus "extreme" -- is a pretty significant and rather disgusting charge.

I concur, absolutely and without reservation.

[WATCH.]

UPDATE:

Cecile Richards, the president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, weighs in:

"Tonight, John McCain showed he doesn't care about women's health when he described protecting "the health of the woman" as "extreme." John McCain doesn't seem to understand that women's health matters. He blatantly showed that he doesn't trust women to decide what is in the best interest of their own health. Barack Obama, on the other hand, stood up for women's health."

Comments

[peacegurl48]

This exemplifies the so called "culture of life" that fixates on embryos and birth then forgets about the rest: Mothers, our soldiers, poor people, people with no healthcare, .etc, etc.

I am pro-choice (not pro-abortion) and fervently believe that we must always consider the life of the mother, whether a woman was raped or a vicitm of incest even in late term abortions. Abortion is a difficult choice but it should be the choice of the woman.

[Soundofthunder]

I like how McCain made air-quotes when he said "health", as if health is code for something other than health. The health of the mother involves a variety of things from her imminent death to permanent sterility. Fact is late term abortions are such a tiny fraction of all abortions they are demonstrably rare. But McCain acts as if millions of women carry for six months then cavalierly change their minds. One thing is for sure: McCain changed the minds of a million undecided women voters last night. They are now voting for Obama.

SOT

[LemonMeringue]

McMentalLapse obviously does not remember that a few weeks ago Obama took fire from all directions for saying something to the effect that mental health is not necessarily justification for the third trimester procedure.

O is the most courageous of all the Democrats to take on this issue and give an inch. Everybody else just wants to avoid talking about it, therefore the Republicans OWN THIS ISSUE

[storeyy]

We have to vote in big numbers to give Senator Obama a mandate. We have to make sure there's a Dem Majority in the house and Senate so that Sen Obama will have the 'Power of the People" to get the things done that are truly necessary. It's our job to vote, to get our family, friends, neighbors and all concerned citizens to the polls. We are the future,not John McCain.

[carriellbee]

They're talking about the air quotes on MSNBC right now.

[dotorfats]

unbelivable

[bmaggiemay]

Wait till all those republicans heard John McCain supports stem cell research..­..there goes anothe million votes out the window....­the far right groups DO NO SUPPORT stem cell research..­....Should­n't McCain already know this

[LiberTLover]

It's ok, he'll send Flailin' Palin out there to tell his base that he didn't say it and they will all believe her.

[huffyfan2]

What does "John Mccain" stand for? I guess that all depends on the day of the week or the hour.

[WAWTU31]

I felt bad for him when he said that and then added the in the air quotes....­..he does not get it.

[SUSANINCOLUMBIA]

I don't feel badly for McCain. I feel badly for all the women in the future who die in childbirth because President McCain has appointed some anti-choice justice to the Supreme Court and reproductive rights have been stricken from the books.

[LiberTLover]

Not to mention thinking that wanting nuclear power to be safe is an extreme environmental position!! The man is so far out of touch it is frightening.

[sharonh]

Want equal pay? Push for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. TeddyK has introduced it every year--who will pick up the mantle? This is not a symbolic issue but a real one. It would give grounds for suit if employers discriminated on wages based on sex, which is all the ERA says--that equal rights under the law will be not abridged on account of sex. What's the problem? I'm tired of waiting.

[carriellbee]

Yes. What's up with that?

http://www.equalrightsamendment.org/

[sharonh]

Sexism, plain and simple. The last fundamental barrier between all people, and the most basic.

[seenitall]

I noticed Obama walked behind Michelle and the "other one" let Cindy follow him, practically leaving her the dust to get to Joe Lieberman!!!

[LemonMeringue]

O is a natural gentleman because he sincerely and deeply respects women.

McMisogynist cannot even fake it for important moments on TV.

[EducatedDerelict]

Some people are as passionate about protecting the souls and lives of babies in the womb as many others are about:

Refusing to eat dead animals;

Fighting for the lives of convicted murderers who have been sentenced to death;

Exposing the deplorable treatment of animals who are sold as pets, imprisoned while they produce food, and/or ultimately killed to be eaten;

Informing the world and changing laws in order to protect/save the environment from human pollution.

The problem with passion - about having, being compelled by, or being ruled by intense emotion or strong feeling - is that such vehemence is a challenge to human reason. That is to say, that while passion for an issue is something that grows as one's experience with the topic increases, while it is completely human; it does not always let us express ourselves and be seen in the best light.

Of course a mother's health is not trivial. Neither is the life of an unborn child. One does not have to belittle the one to proclaim the importance of the other; and I don't think that Sen. McCain (in less emotional, desperate, pressure-filled conditions) would say so.

'My reason may calm my anger, which in turn may serve other ends I have. ' - Aristotle

[SheWhoMustBeObeyed]

Your response is measured and well written, but I take issue with your summation of McCain's would be response in calmer times. He has little to no history of supporting women in any way, and his penchant for summing things up in tidy little either/or categories defies the complex understanding that your description requires.

You're right that none of this is trivial, and this is precisely why there is outrage burning this page at the moment. Women have been uncategorically told by "that man" that our "health" is of little consequence.

[EducatedDerelict]

SheWhoMustBeObeyed:

I would like to share a story with you: I heard a woman say that she was both 'pro life' and 'pro choice'. When pressed, she said, referring to Iraq, I'm against this war of choice based upon lies. Our American heroes - more than 4,000 of them - have been killed, and I want to rally Americans to support the end of this war. As to the 'pro choice' statement, she said: Well, I don't judge (a woman's choice to abort).

What if I was to say that Abortion is war of choice based upon apathy? Our American babies - 48, 589, 993 since 1973 - have been killed, and I want to rally Americans to support the end of this war.

I think there is an absence of value placed on children.

The absolute right to life is not a right for defenseless lives still in the mother's womb;

Corporal punishment is allowed in public schools of the US;

Parents may beat their children..­.within reason and the law; and

Penalties for sexual abuse, rape, incest, and pedophilia remain insignificant in the silence of a meaningful public outcry.

Thus, 18 year olds - these are adults in the US - who choose to join the military whose existence is due to its responsibility and dedication to fighting wars (where people die) are valued lives. I agree with this. Babies in the womb are lives, but we should accept, without judgment, their deaths. I do not agree with this.

[EducatedDerelict]

I would like to share a story with you: I heard a woman say that she was both 'pro life' and 'pro choice'. When pressed, she said, referring to Iraq, I'm against this war of choice based upon lies. Our American heroes - more than 4,000 of them - have been killed, and I want to rally Americans to support the end of this war. As to the 'pro choice' statement, she said: Well, I don't judge (a woman's choice to abort).

What if I was to say that Abortion is war of choice based upon apathy? Our American babies - 48, 589, 993 since 1973 - have been killed, and I want to rally Americans to support the end of this war.

I think there is an absence of value placed on children.

The absolute right to life is not a right for defenseless lives still in the mother's womb;

Corporal punishment is allowed in public schools of the US;

Parents may beat their children..­.within reason and the law; and

Penalties for sexual abuse, rape, incest, and pedophilia remain insignificant in the silence of a meaningful public outcry.

Thus, 18 year olds - these are adults in the US - who choose to join the military whose existence is due to its responsibility and dedication to fighting wars (where people die) are valued lives. I agree with this. Babies in the womb are lives, but we should accept, without judgment, their deaths. I do not agree with this.

[LemonMeringue]

I appreciate your post.

O has identified the problems that lead to abortion, and has promised to work to solve them. That is the only rational way to address this issue and THE ONLY WAY THAT WILL WORK

Abstinence education
Sex education
Birth control
Education
Job training
Jobs, let's keep a few of them in the US
Minimum wage - which would be $10 to match the buying power in 1968
Health care for everyone
Support for the mother & baby - yes, food stamps
And let's talk about the men, where are they!!!!!!!! Are these virgin pregnancies?

[EducatedDerelict]

I thank you for taking the time to hear me out. I don't want to antagonize you, but I am in a strangely passionate state right now. And I want to say 2 things in answer to your reply:

1. I don't think that reason that most women have abortions is because of poverty (thus, requiring a greater emphasis on financial assistance. Abortion statistics show that most women who have abortions: are 20-24 years old; white; unmarried; have never had a live birth; never had a prior abortion; and induce abortion at less than 9 weeks. 33% of black women of all ages (including those under 18 years) were under the poverty line in 1995. 10.7% of white women of all ages were under the poverty line. [It's hard to find information beyond this date]. My point in providing this information that has been disaggregated by race and sex is only to suggest that something more disturbing than the pressure of money concerns is fueling abortion.

2. I wasn't always pro life. In fact, I've been pro choice since I began to think about abortion. But I have changed. And my passion for the topic is growing by leaps and bounds. I have never voted on abortion as an issue.

However, to say it disturbs me greatly to find out that Sen. Obama voted against the Illinois Born Alive Protection Act http://illinoisreview.typepad.com/illinoisreview/2008/01/top-10-reasons.htmll), is an understatement.

[santamonica39]

Not eating animals is a personal choice. I don't get to impose that on others. And fighting to protect the care of animals (and children) should be the mission of every American since what is the "pro" argument for abusing animals?

Do you know that the number of abortions has gone UP under Bush? Policies that pay no attention to the health of women, efforts to slash funding for family planning and access to birth control, policies that impose tax disincentives to having more children (which really impacts poor people) and a complete lack of regard for the welfare of children once they're in the world all have far more impact on the number of abortions than policies that retain a woman's right to make choices over HER OWN body. If anti-abortion proponents were really interested in reducing abortions they would be looking at all of these issues, not just trying to put government in charge of controlling a woman's body.

[EducatedDerelict]

Being pro life is not a matter of a party affiliation. Being pro life is not a matter of endorsing an administration, of supporting it.

I am a mother. An Independent. A feminist. I am also a person that does not think that we - humans - are wise enough to decide matters of life or death when it concerns other human lives.

If there is no 'pro' argument for abusing animals, is the unspoken implication in your words that there is some pro argument for aborting unborn babies? If women must have the 'right to make choices over [her own] body’, are babies' own bodies of no value?

Feminism is the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of men ought to be equal to those of women. If men were the ones to carry the embryo created from a woman's egg and a man's sperm, it would be a top priority to stop men claiming that they it is their body and their right to unilaterally decide the fate of the unborn baby. As I've said before: It seems like women's reproductive rights obliterate the child (most important) and the father. Woman's right to choose makes the father only a donor. The child is a part of the mother, like hair she can cut off or nails she can choose to paint any color she likes.... The mother is not merely a receptacle in this scheme, however. She is elevated to the status of God.

[kylennblack]

"I've watched the 'Health' clip a couple times. I think Obama was basically just disgusted.­"

I would be too if my mother had died of ovarian cancer and the guy sitting next to me effectively said women's health is not important.

Incredible.

[athenasword]

Yes. I posted earlier (20 pages ago!) that I think this was the first time I have ever seen Sen. Obama need to control a flash of anger. He was mad when McCain put "air quotes" on the health of mothers. I can only imagine he was thinking of his own wife and daughters (and I think he demonstrated huge restraint in not throttling the o'l wrinkly dude!)

[ginxy]

"Health of the mother" is an "extreme pro-abortion" position?

WHAT?

Listen up you creepy old man-- "pro-gover­nment-mand­ated-pregn­ancy" is the extreme position.

[teachpeace]

Touche'

[sharonh]

Why is equal pay a campaign platform? Why is this an issue? It should be a GIVEN.

[athenasword]

Simple. It's an issue because it isn't a GIVEN.

[sharonh]

:)

[athenasword]

This is a thread that deserves to be read entirely. For page after page, the personal stories shared here are incredibly powerful and deeply moving.

Jason, thanks for posting this.

[Cookie100]

I'm 55 yrs old and marched in the 1970's for abortion rights, many times.

I had 2 abortions myself. I was in my late teens and so misinformed and uneducated about reproduction, I got pregnant.

I was far to young to have kids. My oldest sister, now 65, was FORCED to get married. May of you don't know what this country was like back then. In the mid 1960's and prior, if you were unwed and pregnant, you were tossed out in the streets, pretty much, you had to get married.

Of course, she was divorced eventually, a decision you make when you're 18, and when your 30, are 2 different things.

I can only say, Palins daughter, an unwed MINOR, if this were even 30 years ago, she would not be a running mate for VP. I can say, if O's daughter were pregnant, and an unwed mom, the trolls would be HOWLING!!!

Palin often mentions choices, you have the choice who to vote for, yet, she is all for taking away any womans right to choose.

OH and BTW Senator McCain, Palins youngest child is NOT AUTISTIC, HE HAS DOWN'S SYNDROM. Last night you said that child was autistic TWICE, there is a significant difference. A huge difference as a matter of fact.

[pineapplegal]

I am 42 and while I didn't live those times, I can MOST CERTAINLY appreciate all you and the others like you did for the women of future generations. You will not be forgotten and we will continue to fight for those same rights. Again, thank you.