Writing in the comboxes of God-o-Meter’s post today taking the news media to task characterizing Joe Biden as a standard issue pro-choice advocate despite some pro-life votes, National Right to Life Committee Legislative Director Douglas Johnson writes:

it is true that Biden’s record on a few pro-life issues is contrary to the positions that Senator Obama has taken — which is to say, while Obama has always embraced the most expansively pro-abortion policy option of those placed before him, there are several specific issues on which Biden has not done that. These divergences actually illustrate some of the extremes of Obama’s record. For example, Obama consistently opposed the ban on partial-birth abortions, while Biden voted for it (but then criticized the Supreme Court decision that upheld it). Obama favors repeal of the Hyde Amendment — a proven “abortion reduction” law that has saved more than one million lives. Obama led the opposition to the Illinois Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, while Biden (along with every other voting U.S. senator) supported a virtually identical bill.

A good question: Is there a piece of pro-life legislation that Obama supported before running for president?

6