Abortion has long been a
controversial topic in
America. Ever since Roe v.
Wade was decided in 1973,
the country has clashed over
whether a woman should
have the right to choose. This
election is the most crucial
one in decades when it comes
to abortion because of the
likelihood of at least one
Supreme Court Justice retiring
in the next four years.
Obama is staunchly prochoice.
He was given a
100 percent rating
by
N A R A L
Pro-Choice
America,
signifying
a comp
l e t e l y
pro-choice
v o t i n g
record. In
March, he
voted against a bill
that would have prohibited
minors from crossing state
lines to get an abortion. This
coincides with his stance
against a bill that would have
notified parents of minors
that get out-of-state abortions.
He has stated that he is
“undecided” on whether or
not life begins at conception
and has always remained
pro-choice. He is against any
bill that would ban partialbirth
abortion, but he
believes that women
can make the right
choice when it
comes to the
issue.
McCain, on
the other
hand, has
always been
pro-life. He
has voted yes
on almost every
anti-abortion
bill
brought
t o
Congress
and has a 0
percent voting
record with
NARAL. He also
voted no on a bill
that would have provided
$100 million to
reduce teen pregnancy by
education and contraceptives.
He stated in January 2000 that
he supports overturning Roe
v. Wade, leaving it up to the
states to decide the legality of
abortion. Where Obama said
he is undecided, McCain is
staunchly the opposite, having
voted against partialbirth
abortion in congress.
Some may say that abortion
is not a key issue at this point
in time. However, with many
liberal justices ready to retire,
it is believed that only one
more conservative judge
could be enough to repeal
Roe v. Wade. Should this historic
court decision be
repealed, the states would
have to vote on whether or
not to keep abortion legal.
The other key issue is health
care. Of course, much has
been made about the financial
bailout and market crash of
the past couple of weeks.
But the economy goes
much farther than the
last two weeks. It
also involves
health care and
the fact that 47
m i l l i o n
Americans still
don’t have it.
O b a m a ‘ s
health care
plan has two
major goals – to
m a k e
h e a l t h
i n s u r –
a n c e
c o m p a –
nies work
for people and
businesses, not
just insurance
and drug companies,
and to reduce
costs and save a typical
American family up to
$2,500. His plan would
require insurance companies
to cover pre-existing conditions
so all Americans,
regardless of income, can
have health coverage at a fair
cost. It will promote public
health, but will not be a universal
health insurance program.
McCain’s health care plan is
much different. He plans to
use competition between
health insurance companies
to improve the quality and
amount of coverage. He also
plans to reform the tax code
to offer more choices beyond
employer-based insurance
coverage. He will give a
$2,500 tax credit to individuals
to offset the cost of health
coverage and he will encourage
the use of Health Savings
Accounts for families. The
difference between the
two plans is that
Obama wants
to let the federal
government
help
with the
burden of
health care
w h i l e
M c C a i n
wants to
leave it up to
the market. He
believes that allowing insurance
companies to compete
will mean lower prices and
better coverage, while Obama
believes that insurance companies
have done enough to
hurt Americans and that they
cannot be relied upon.