Palin Gets Personal On Abortion Issue

By: Scott Conroy
Topics: Sarah Palin

(CBS)

From CBS News' Scott Conroy:

(JOHNSTOWN, Pa.) Under fire over an Alaska ethics probe which found that she abused her authority in pressuring subordinates to get a state trooper fired, Sarah Palin sought to change the subject at a hockey rink rally here, devoting the better part of her remarks to the issue of abortion.

Before hammering Barack Obama for his "radical" position on abortion, Palin spoke at length about her own baby son Trig, who was born with Down syndrome.

"Now, when I learned that my son Trig would have special needs, to be honest with you, I had to pray that my heart would be prepared for the challenges to come," Palin said. "It was a shock, I wasn't ready for this. I had to ask for that strength."

Palin added that her own baby reaffirmed to her that every life is deserving of protection and has something to contribute to the world

"And as for our beautiful baby boy, for Todd and for me, he's only more precious because he is vulnerable," Palin said. "And in some ways, you know I think that we stand to learn more from him than he does from us. So when we hold Trig and when we care for him, we don't feel scared anymore. We feel blessed."

The Alaska governor then shifted gears to hammer Obama over the Illinois senator's record on abortion.

"So I listened when our opponent defended his unconditional support for unlimited abortions and he said he said that a woman shouldn't have to be quote punished with a baby," Palin said. "Ladies and gentlemen he said that right here in Johnstown—punished with a baby."

When Obama made those remarks, he was not talking about abortion, as Palin suggested. Instead, he was talking about the importance of sex education in the context of his own children.

"But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby. I don't want them punished with an STD at the age of 16," Obama said.

Palin portrayed Obama as out of the mainstream on the hot-button issue.

"Senator Obama has voted against bills to end partial birth abortion," she said. "In the Illinois Senate it was thankfully a bipartisan majority that passed legislation against that practice. Senator Obama opposed that bill. He voted against it in committee and then voted 'present' on the Senate floor and in that legislature. Just so you know, 'present' is how you vote when you are against something, but you don't want to be held to account."

Scott Conroy
Scott Conroy is a National Political Reporter for RealClearPolitics and a contributor for CBS News.
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by smurfcrusher October 14, 2008 12:15 AM EDT: You haven''t seen Sarah Palin hold Trig much because she feels guilty taking him from his mother, Bristol.

DNA does not lie

Palin is the radical on abortion... championing the reproductive rights of rapists and committers of incest.

I bet that b*stard in Austria that fathered several children with his daughter would vote for Palin if he could.

Personally I find her beliefs unconscionable, and I would ask what penalty she would impose on a woman for freeing herself from the product of rape.; Reply to this comment


by av1101 October 13, 2008 5:50 PM EDT: if the baby with down syndrome is really hers? why does everyone hold him but her? I have never seen her hold him; Reply to this comment


by av1101 October 13, 2008 5:45 PM EDT: I have never seen sarah palin hold her yougest son.; Reply to this comment


by goldndog1 October 13, 2008 3:34 AM EDT: If Palin''s priority is Jesus, why does she lie and sling mud?

If her priority is Country, why did she and her husband support the Alaskan Independence Party, whose goal is the secession of Alaska from the United States, for seven years?

And if the Republicans are so moral and so big on family, why did McCain kick his first wife to the curb to go chasing the skirts of the Anheuser-Busch heiress?
As far as I know, Obama is still married to his first wife.; Reply to this comment


by Frankftw October 12, 2008 5:36 PM EDT: People supporting marriage and the life of baby''s are starting to support Sarah Palin from the top of the campaign to the smallest neighborhood in America.

Pundits are comparing Barack Obamas experience, history, pastors, morals, family ... to those of Sarah Palin and Obama comes up wanting in each and every category. EVERYBODY wants to hear
what she has to say. Palin may be the most popular vice president since Richard Nixon 50 years ago,. Sarah is a devoted wife and mother who''s priorities are Jesus, Family and Country! She is the common sense alternative to boring politicians. One look at her and you know she worked for everything she has...no "equal opportunity" special favoritism here!; Reply to this comment


by newslink October 12, 2008 3:18 PM EDT: It seems as if Palin uses her children as a patsy in this campaign. This does not explain her position on abortion.; Reply to this comment


by lch100 October 11, 2008 8:41 PM EDT: She (Palin) should continue to focus on things that people are not interested in right now--like abortion. Barack Obama is right on target, talking about the economy. The abortion issue has been going on for over 30 years. Last week, our economy collapsed. Who is able to lead? Barack Obama.; Reply to this comment


by goldndog1 October 11, 2008 8:29 PM EDT: I beg your pardon, wolf77creek, but disabled people have a right to exist, too. And, if by saying that Palin is "just another Jesus freak" you mean she''s "just another Christian", then you''re wrong. Palin, IMO, is a liar and a HYPOCRITE, and the Wasilla Assembly of God is a dominionist cult, but please don''t insult mainstream Christians by tarring us all with Palin''s brush.

Being a Christian, even a fundamentalist Christian, does not automatically equate to being an extremist wingnut or a bigot or a cult follower, and ironicaly, the churches which are most often described by non-Christians as fundamentalist are those promoting UNorthodox, UNfundamental Pop-Christian doctrines, churches which have gained a reputation for being the nut-wards of Christianity.

Even well educated people are falling for their screwball ideologies, to the point Republican cantidate for vice president of the United States publically atributes her political success to her being anointed by an African witch-hunter.

...... and still we who are mainstream, orthodox, fundamental Christians wonder why people outside the church are calling all fundamentalists and even all Christians into question?

I%u2019d say that it%u2019s NO wonder, no wonder at all. If we in the churches do not police our own, and call a cult a cult when we see one, we shouldn%u2019t blame non-Christians for pointing out that the emperor has no clothes.; Reply to this comment


by wolf77creek October 11, 2008 7:52 PM EDT: How could anyone in their right mind bring a child into this world knowing it will be deformed, mentally ill and unable to live a normal life. Not to mention the cost to care for a lifeitme for this person, of course Palin has alot of wealth to pay for her daughter. People without the means to care for them are on social security, medicaid etc. Palin is just another "Jesus" freak, full of lies & deception, besides being an air-head. How can anyone think she should be in office. How much did she have to pay to get to be the gov of Alaska??; Reply to this comment


by samiael October 11, 2008 6:59 PM EDT: This woman is turning out to be more of a deceiver and liar than any one, who has ever aspired to that office.Either she has been manipulated into going down that road by the vicious republican machine, or she is showcasing the darkness of her soul.Either way, when someone can take another person''s words and twist them for their own nefarious purposes, it is an indictment of moral and ethical deficiency exixting in that person, that disqualifies them from holding a position of high office.; Reply to this comment