Column: First Amendment May Be Violated If Obama Is Elected

This story was written by Thomas Baniszewski, The Acorn

The First Amendment of the U.S Constitution states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Also, the Conscience Clause "permits individuals or institutions to refuse to provide or to pay for medical procedures on the basis of religious or moral beliefs." On July 17, 2007, Senator Barack Obama, speaking to the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said, "The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's the first thing I'd do."

The Freedom of Choice Act would overturn all Supreme Court decisions that allow states to set parental consent for minors seeking abortions, allow taxpayer money to fund abortions and would overturn the Partial Birth Abortion Ban of 2003. The act would increase abortions at a time when abortions are at their lowest levels. It would also force every taxpayer, physician, nurse, pharmacist and hospital to perform or pay for abortions against their moral conscience, which violates the First Amendment and the Conscience Clause of a health practitioner.

If he signed the Freedom of Choice Act, Obama would be "prohibiting the free exercise" of religion in the United States. An individual's religion or conscience, which disallows him or her to perform abortions, would be violated. Obama would be imposing his view that abortion carries no moral effects, and that silences individuals who believe abortion is wrong.

The act would also overturn the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, which states, "A moral, medical, and ethical consensus exists that the practice of performing a partial-birth abortion-an abortion in which a physician delivers an unborn child's body until only the head remains inside the womb, punctures the back of the child's skull with a sharp instrument, and sucks the child's brains out before completing delivery of the dead infant-is a gruesome and inhumane procedure that is never medically necessary and should be prohibited."

Additionally, the act would allow girls under 18 unrestricted access to abortions. This limits the power of a girl's parents to keep and raise the child. A teenage girl is by no means ready to have an abortion. 32 states have some set of parental consent laws and these would all be overturned in an instant by the Freedom of Choice Act. Obama should know better as he is a parent and should fight for parents, not undermine their interests.

In 2006, a CBS poll discovered that "A majority of Americans oppose virtually all abortions in the United States." This demonstrates that most Americans are either against abortions or favor some set of regulations. The act would silence these Americans. Every citizen has the right to speak his or her opinion about abortion, and this act would silence also medical practitioners who believe otherwise. Additionally, no individual taxpayer should have his or her money going to Planned Parenthood to fund abortions.

If Obama is elected president and signs the bill, every citizen's First Amendment and Conscience Clause will be violated. Obama must understand that we live in a democracy and the views of a minority should never be imposed on the majority. Obama will destroy every citizen's right to practice religion or follow his or her conscience. There is still time to vote for Senator John McCain, who loves this country and would never allow for the Conscience Clause and First Amendment to be taken away from us.