NARAL Endorses Obama; Clinton Camp 'Surprised'

Analysts say timing could alienate donors

(NEWSER) - NARAL’s state affiliates are blasting the abortion-rights group’s decision to back Barack Obama, fearing the move could alienate donors loyal to Hillary Clinton. “It’s created a firestorm,” said the president of the group’s New York branch. “Everyone was mystified.” That includes Obama supporters, Politico reports. A Clinton ally said some of NARAL’s Obama backers thought the endorsement “ill-timed and ill-advised.” More»

Would-be governor doesn't get, doesn't want president's backing

(NEWSER) - Rhode Island's Democratic candidate for governor, Frank Caprio, says President Obama can just "take his endorsement and really shove it, as far as I'm concerned"—this in a radio interview after Obama declined to endorse him in the first place. The White House said yesterday that Obama wouldn't be backing any candidate in the three-way race, which includes Republican-turned-independent Lincoln Chafee, who CBS News notes was an early Obama ally. And now Caprio is letting the venom fly. More»

Aim is to kill bill in Senate, or back in House, at any cost

(NEWSER) - Abortion rights activists are organizing a massive grassroots effort and targeting lawmakers to ensure the hated Stupak-Pitts Amendment never reaches the president’s desk. The coalition of groups is first meeting with senators and organizing a phone drive and petition to keep the House language out of the Senate's bill. Failing that, they are preparing a roadblock in the House to stymie the entire bill. More»

(NEWSER) - President Obama told Pope Benedict XVI yesterday that he would make every effort to reduce the number of abortions in the US, according to a Vatican spokesman. Bioethics and life issues were the focus of the men's 40-minute talk yesterday. The pontiff gave the president a booklet explaining the church's opposition to abortion and stem cell research, Reuters reports. More»

Nominee has no track record of upholding right to choose

(NEWSER) - Advocates of abortion rights are getting jittery about Sonia Sotomayor, who, despite a decades-long paper trail, has never issued a ruling on the right to choose. Barack Obama's nominee to replace David Souter—himself famous for surprising his pro-life supporters by upholding Roe v. Wade—was raised Catholic and is a member of a group that helps young mothers. And in her only abortion-related decision, she came down on the side of the Bush administration, reports the Los Angeles Times. More»