The abortion debate took an interesting turn.

Obama has been under fire for a while over his prior votes on abortion so it was obvious that would come up in the Saddleback interview.

When asked when a fetus gains human rights status, Obama took a clear stand:  Ask someone else.  ¹

Obama says pointed abortion query “above his pay grade”

DALLAS - U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama side-stepped a pointed query about abortion on Saturday by “mega-pastor” Rick Warren during a televised forum.

Asked at what point a baby gets “human rights,” Obama, who strongly supports abortion rights, said: “… whether you’re looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question  with specificity … is above my pay grade.”

He went on to reiterate his view that it was important to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies.

He is right in the sense that the root issue of abortion is unwanted pregnancies.  But that does not change the fact that you still need to answer the question and define the nature of life if you want to justify abortion.

The issue at hand is when an abortion is performed and the fetus is delivered alive.  A law requiring medical care to be given to such fetuses was voted down with the help of Obama.  In fact he opposed it directly for three years.

The issue seems pretty simple really.  if life begins at birth, a failed abortion that results in a live “birth” qualifies.  At the least some attempt should be made to save the life,

Obama’s response to his gaffe has been his typical tap dance nuance.²