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Fact checker fails to explain abortion fight

By Mark Obbie

This Washington Post "Fact Checker" column by Michael Dobbs purports to explain the truth behind an abortion-related controversy in the presidential campaign. Trouble is, I read it a few times and I still don't know what the facts are. Call me dense, but the piece -- which acknowledges the "legally complex" issues surrounding Barack Obama's opposition to Illinois' "born alive" legislation -- does not make clear what changes the bills would have made from existing Illinois law. It doesn't clearly explain what federal law is now. And it doesn't convincingly support its argument that it's unfair for the McCain campaign to accuse Obama of supporting the denial of medical services to babies born alive in a botched abortion. By the end of the short article, I can't distinguish one set of facts from another, and the only thing I really understand is the "did so/did not" squabble between opposing camps rages on.I'm one of those voters who hasn't followed this debate as it developed, and who distrusts partisans' versions of the facts. Accusing a candidate of "infanticide" is so extreme and emotional that I want to understand what it's really all about. I wish Dobbs had made it clear. Can anyone point me toward a clear and demonstrably unbiased statement of the facts?

Full post as published by Lawbeat on October 26, 2008 (boomark / email).