Probably not! But there’s a flurry of frantic op-eds popping up (like this one, by Chuck Norris) that Obama may try to sneak a federal abortion bill into law on January 22, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Some background: In July of 2007, Barack Obama delivered a stirring speech to a roomful of Planned Parenthood supporters. To cheers he promised, “The first thing I’d do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That’s the first thing that I’d do.” (You can watch the 23-minute speech here, or read the entire transcript-including that quote-here.)Now, context is key here. He didn’t seem to mean his first act as President, but rather his first act as it relates to women’s rights. Or maybe he used “first thing” as a kind of casual exagerration for “I’ll get it done.” Either way, he supports the bill, and readily says as much-a big deal for American women, especially after the last eight years. The Freedom of Choice Act is not small potatoes, either: It would have far-reaching consequences, basically making it federal policy that every women have the right to choose whether she wants to bear a child or terminate a pregnancy. It would also prohibit federal and state laws from getting in the way of that right.So will the bill pass next week as predicted? Probs not, since that’s not how bills are made into law. Or maybe Norris is right: Maybe all this rigamarole about a gay bishop praying at inauguration is just a distraction from Obama’s behind-the-scenes toiling to pass the bill without fanfare. Yeah, maybe.
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