Pro-life groups slam Obama

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His "punished with a baby" comment Saturday at a town hall in Johnstown, Pa., reignited the outrage.

"It is just shocking to hear it come out of someone's mouth," said Charlene Bashore, director of the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation PAC. "I can't say it is surprising since he has a radical stance on abortion. ... By all indications, he does consider an unplanned pregnancy to be a punishment."

Responding to a question about HIV/AIDS and sex education, Mr. Obama said he supports a curriculum that includes abstinence and contraception.

"I've got two daughters — 9 years old and 6 years old," Mr. Obama said. "I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby....So it doesn't make sense to not give them information."

Pro-life activists say Mr. Obama's abortion views will hurt him in a general election matchup with presumptive Republican nominee Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

It also could hurt his run against Mrs. Clinton in the April 22 primary in Pennsylvania, which has a large bloc of Democratic pro-life voters, they say.

"It's hard to be more pro-abortion than Hillary Clinton, but Mr. Obama seems to have found a way to do it," said Mr. Osteen.

Pro-life groups note that both Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama voted against Senate bills in 2006 that would have made it illegal to take a minor across state lines for an abortion.

Mr. Obama, as an Illinois state senator, voted against a bill that would have guaranteed medical care for babies who survive abortions rather than letting them die. Mrs. Clinton voted for a similar measure in 2001.

Concerned Women for America (CWA) called on Mr. Obama to recant his comment, saying it stigmatizes babies conceived by teenagers and "provides an excuse for aborting them."

"Our society would take a dangerous step backward from the Judeo-Christian belief that we are all created equal if we were to treat one class of humans — those born to teenagers — as a curse," CWA President Wendy Wright said. "Senator Obama should clearly recant and not sidestep this issue. No baby is a 'punishment.' "