McCain v. Obama 

Sexuality education:

Barack Obama
1. Supports comprehensive sexuality education

• age appropriate sexuality education for K-12
• young children learn how to recognize inappropriate touching; older children are taught to understand their bodies; high school students examine healthy relationships, and learn about contraception, prevention of STDs
• allows parents to withdraw children from lessons that don’t agree with their values

2. Was a secondary sponsor of Prevention First Act legislation

• comprehensive family planning umbrella bill aimed at reducing unintended pregnancies
• would provide emergency contraception for rape victims, and funding for public awareness of emergency contraception
• the bill includes the Real Education About Life Act; REAL stipulates that sexuality education programs provide medically accurate information on contraception
  

John McCain
1. Supports abstinence-only sexuality education

• teaches students that sex should be saved for marriage; advocates for heterosexual-only relationships; promotes traditional gender roles; provides no scientifically-based information on contraceptives

2. Signed letter backing Title V

• provides federal funding to states that teach abstinence-only sexuality education in schools

Reproductive rights:

Barack Obama
1. Supports Freedom of Choice Act legislation

• would codify Roe v. Wade, ensuring legal abortion for women
• would supercede state legislation restricting abortion
• would override any decisions that overturn Roe v. Wade

2. Supports equal access to abortion services for women of all socioeconomic backgrounds through public funding

3. Opposes parental consent

4. Opposes abortion in the third trimester unless it is to protect the health of the woman

5. Opposes funding for crisis pregnancy centers, which counsel women facing unintended pregnancies on alternatives to abortion, and are known to provide medically inaccurate information

John McCain
1. Opposes Freedom of Choice Act legislation

2. Wants Roe v. Wade to be reversed

3. Opposes abortion except in cases of rape or incest, or when medically necessary to save a woman’s life; opposes funding organizations that do not meet this criteria

4. Supports parental consent laws

LGBTQ rights:

Barack Obama
1. Supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act

• would prohibit discrimination based on sex orientation, or gender identity or expression

2. Supports adoption rights for same-sex couples

3. Supports the repeal of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act)

• DOMA defines the institution of marriage as between a man and a woman

4. Supports civil unions conferring the same legal rights as do marriage licenses, but has not endorsed same-sex marriage

5. Voted against the federal amendment to ban same-sex marriage

6. Wants to repeal the U.S. military’s current stance on gays in the military, i.e. “don’t ask don’t tell” policy; a repeal would allow people to serve openly

7. Supports the specific inclusion of LGBTQ hate crimes within the current hate crimes statutes

John McCain
1. Voted against the Employment Non-discrimination Act

2. Opposes gay adoption

3. Defends DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act)

4. Does not want the approximately 1,200 federal legal rights and benefits of marriage extended to same-sex couples

5. Supported the ban on same-sex marriage and civil unions in Arizona

6. Supports California’s Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage

7. Opposes civil unions

8. Believes that the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is working

9. Has voted against strengthening hate crime legislation to include gender identity and sexual orientation