Rick Warren’s question tonight “At what point does a baby get human rights?” was timely, given that there are new indications that Obama is covering up his voting record (note that he did not straightforwardly answer Warren’s follow-up question which was specifically about his voting record on this issue.) John Fund has a simple breakdown. (HT: Denny Burk) I’ve seen several versions of this story in numerous conservative media outlets, but the MSM seems to stay away from it.
Here are the original sources: Originally, the Illinois Born Alive did not contain a “neutrality clause” (that is, an explicit indication that the bill is not meant to influence the legal standing of a fetus). But on March 12, 2003, this Amendment was added:
“Nothing in this Section shall be construed to affirm, deny, expand, or contract any legal status or legal right applicable to any member of the species homo sapiens at any point prior to being born alive as defined in this Section.”
Obama voted for the amendment (that’s the vote on the left-hand column on this committee vote record), and then voted against the amended bill (that’s the vote on the right column of the same document). The Democrats on the committee (which Obama chaired) followed his lead, and the bill was defeated 6-4 on party lines.
(HT: Yuval Levin)