Presidential Candidates Have Differing, Related Perspectives On Abortion, Stem Cell Research, Opinion Piece Says

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Stem Cell Research
Article Date: 21 Jul 2008 - 2:00 PDT

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It is "easy" to say Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) have different views on "when life begins, use of stem cells and abortion," but the presidential candidates often are "addressing very different, but related, beginning-of-life issues," Thomas Marino, a professor of anatomy and cell biology at Temple University's School of Medicine, writes in a Philadelphia Inquirer opinion piece.

According to Marino, McCain considers these issues from the perspective of the embryo, arguing that it has a right to life, while Obama looks at the issues from the perspective that women have the right to make their own decisions about their reproductive health. The candidates' decision to talk about "different parts of the story" is "troublesome" in part because "most Americans do not know" about the early stages of human development, Marino writes. According to Marino, many people might not know that only 30% of fertilized eggs result in a birth and that more than half of implanted fertilized embryos "actually complete development while the others normally abort spontaneously." Many people also do not know the degree to which fertilized embryos develop before a woman knows she is pregnant -- including formation of the neural tube and the "first heartbeat," Marino writes.

"So when the abortion debate occurs, the candidates talk past each other," Marino writes, adding that the "best approach" would entail the candidates answering two questions -- one concerning when a fetus gains protection from society and when "personhood" is established, and the other about who has the right to control a woman's decision about her reproductive health and if there is a "time when a woman's reproductive rights can be sacrificed by society for the greater good." He adds, "Then you might want them to address health care for women, especially those women who cannot afford it. But that is a third issue." Marino writes that if "we know their thoughts on these issues, we would find out a lot more about the candidates than we know right now" (Marino, Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/17).

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