Obama's Pro-Choice Stance Complicates His Efforts to Appeal to Evangicals

CBS News: Obama's Call For Unity Faces Abortion Test, by Brian Montopoli:

...Obama has made a point of reaching out to evangelicals during his presidential campaign, a group that Democrats have largely ceded to Republicans in recent years. He has come out in favor of faith-based programs and stressed social justice issues that appeal to evangelicals in his speeches. There is even a radio ad running on Christian stations highlighting Obama's religious rhetoric, including statements like "I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth."

Mahoney's media offensive, which CBN's David Brody writes "represents the broader feelings with many conservative Evangelical groups," reflects an effort to counter Obama's appeals by spotlighting his stance in favor of abortion rights, which is at odds with the anti-abortion beliefs of many of the evangelicals he is now courting....

I found this part of the article highly misleading:

Obama has come under some pressure from Sojourners founder Jim Wallis and others to consider what's known as an abortion reduction agenda. Anti-abortion voters might be more willing to look past Obama's views in favor of abortion rights, some believe, if the candidate were to embark on a serious effort to reduce the number of abortions performed in America each year.

But the Obama campaign has resisted calls to adopt an aggressive abortion reduction agenda, possibly over fears that doing so could alienate voters - among them former Hillary Clinton backers - turned off by what they perceive as anything less than a total commitment to the abortion rights position.

This implies that pro-choice voters (including all those "former Hillary Clinton backers"), as well as the Obama campaign, oppose efforts to reduce abortions. 

To the contrary, it is pro-choice Democrats who support the most effective strategies to reduce unintended pregnancies.  Granted, pro-choice advocates often prefer to focus not just on abortion, but on the the underlying social problem, unintended pregnancy.  If we "reduce abortions" simply by preventing or dissuading pregnant women from getting them, without reducing unintended pregnancy, we haven't addressed the underlying social problem at all. 

Obama and other Democrats have promoted legislation aimed directly at reducing unintended pregnancy by increasing access to birth control, supporting comprehensive sexuality education, and other efforts.  Obama is a lead co-sponsor of the Prevention First Act, which proposes a number of preventive-health and education measures designed to reduce unintended pregnancies.  This kind of legislation has far more promise than anything Republicans have put forward.