The lack of self-awareness is almost unbelievable, though we don’t know if the president has bothered to even watch the videos being released by the Center for Medical Progress, where they show in graphic detail how Planned Parenthood is allegedly harvesting fetal tissue through illegal means. Democrats have found it a bit harder to defend the organization since the issue really isn’t women’s health; it’s the grisly process of obtaining fetal tissue. Yet, the Democratic frontrunner, Hillary Clinton, soon had a come to Jesus moment, endorsing the work of Planned Parenthood on Twitter. The White House also said they backed what this organization was doing, citing their “high ethical standard,” though Press Secretary, Josh Earnest, admitted to not watching the videos.
Now, we have President Obama speaking on August 3 about how harvesting organs from humans is a "foolish" practice at the Young African Leaders Initiative Presidential Summit at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington D.C. A question from a woman with albinism was directed at Obama, where in Africa, people with albinism are killed and their organs harvested for various rituals (via WhiteHouse.gov) [emphasis mine]:
Q: Thank you, Mr. President. I’m from Kenya. And I’m speaking on behalf of my brothers and sisters with albinism from Africa. As you may know, Mr. President, persons with albinism in Africa are being killed and their body parts harvested for ritual purposes. My request to you is to raise this issue with the heads of states from African countries to bring these atrocities to an end, for the benefit of for us in this room, and our brothers and sisters back in Africa. Thank you. (Applause.)THE PRESIDENT: Okay, good. Thank you. Well, can I just say the notion that any African would discriminate against somebody because of the color of their skin, after what black people around the world have gone through, is crazy. (Applause.) It is infuriating and I have no patience for it.
When I was in Africa, I said there are important traditions and folkways that need to be respected -- that’s part of who each culture is, each country is. But there’s also just foolish traditions -- (applause) -- and old ways of doing business that are based in ignorance. And they need to stop. And the idea that a society would visit violence on people because of pigmentation, that's not a tradition that is worth preserving. That's tomfoolery. That's craziness. It's cruel.
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Okay. So, while this doesn’t specifically speak to the videos, it still revolves around the issue of respecting human life. President Obama is quite clear that he thinks the killing of albinos for ritualistic purposes is “cruel” and nothing but “craziness.” So, why does he thank Planned Parenthood, or better yet, ask God to bless them, for what they’re reportedly doing regarding the alleged felonious sale of body parts from aborted babies?
At the same time, Obama is probably the most pro-abortion president we’ve seen in a long time. In the Illinois legislature, he voted against “born alive” bills (via FactCheck.org):
At issue is Obama’s opposition to Illinois legislation in 2001, 2002 and 2003 that would have defined any aborted fetus that showed signs of life as a "born alive infant" entitled to legal protection, even if doctors believe it could not survive.Obama opposed the 2001 and 2002 "born alive" bills as backdoor attacks on a woman’s legal right to abortion, but he says he would have been "fully in support" of a similar federal bill that President Bush had signed in 2002, because it contained protections for Roe v. Wade.
We find that, as the NRLC said in a recent statement, Obama voted in committee against the 2003 state bill that was nearly identical to the federal act he says he would have supported. Both contained identical clauses saying that nothing in the bills could be construed to affect legal rights of an unborn fetus, according to an undisputed summary written immediately after the committee’s 2003 mark-up session.
[…]
Obama’s critics are free to speculate on his motives for voting against the bills [they said he supported infanticide], and postulate a lack of concern for babies’ welfare. But his stated reasons for opposing "born-alive" bills have to do with preserving abortion rights, a position he is known to support and has never hidden.
Yeah, that’s still terrible.
Nevertheless, I guess albinos in Africa are just a tad higher on the totem poll than babies regarding respect for life in the Obama White House.
BONUS: Via Mediaite: "Make no mistake: Planned Parenthood has and is breaking the law. The only real question remaining is whether lawmakers and prosecutors intend to do anything about it."
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