Obama Defends Vote On "Born Alive" Abortion Bill; Calls Pro-Lifers "Liars"

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Sen. Barack Obama's (D-IL) opposition to an Illinois state law protecting infants born alive after abortion procedures is coming back to haunt him. Pro-life advocates brought up the issue over the weekend as the presumptive Democratic nominee began to court evangelical voters.

Obama voted against a state version of the federal Born Alive Infants Protection Act, which was signed into law in 2002 amid broad bipartisan support. He told CBN on Saturday that he opposed the measure because it undermined Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling legalizing abortion, and that pro-life advocates were "lying" about his record as a state legislator.

"I would have been completely in, fully in support of the federal bill that everybody supported - which was to say -- that you should provide assistance to any infant that was born - even if it was as a consequence of an induced abortion. That was not the bill that was presented at the state level," he said.

The CBN interview was held immediately after Obama attended a faith forum organized by megachurch pastor Rick Warren.

But the National Right to Life Committee (NLRC) had released documents a week earlier saying a 2003 version of "born alive" bill in the Illinois Senate had the same language on Roe v. Wade as the federal bill. Obama was chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee in the state legislature at the time.

The group demanded an apology from Obama for calling anti-abortion advocates "liars" and challenged the Democratic lawmaker to declare their document a forgery.

"Senator Barack Obama's four-year effort to cover up his full role in killing legislation to protect born-alive survivors of abortions continues to unravel," NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson said in a statement on Monday.

The Obama campaign has dismissed the charges as "outrageous lies."

"The suggestion that Obama - the proud father of two little girls - and others who opposed these bills supported infanticide is deeply offensive and insulting. There is no room for these kinds of distortions and lies in this campaign," Obama spokesman Justin DeJong is quoted by Chicago Tribune as saying.

Obama's abortion stance came under fire last month after he told Relevant Magazine that a mother's "mental distress" is not enough reason for late-term abortions. The Christian Defense Coalition launched a campaign at the time labeling the freshman senator "the Abortion President."