Obama Election Watch

John McCain is unequivocally opposed to a woman’s right to choose. Earlier this year he said, “I do not support Roe v. Wade. It should be overturned.”

A woman’s right to choose continues to be a major wedge issue in American politics. Not only is the public about equally divided on the issue, it draws an extremely passionate response from people on both sides of the political spectrum.

This year McCain said, “I do not support Roe v. Wade. It should be overturned.”

A recent survey shows that several million women — including many McCain supporters — are unaware of the GOP candidate’s position on abortion.

The survey of women in 16 battleground states found that more than one half of all women in these states did not know where McCain stood on the issue of abortion or a woman’s right to choose.

Of women who stated that they supported a woman’s right to choose yet who planned to vote for McCain, one half conceded they did not know McCain’s position on abortion.

For women who supported McCain and a woman’s right to choose, nearly one quarter believed that McCain, like them, was pro-choice.

Now here is the critical point: When these pro-choice women who had favored McCain were informed of their candidate’s position on abortion, nearly two of every five said that they would now be less likely to vote for McCain.

Clearly, a very large number of women — including many Republican women — are not aware of McCain’s opposition to a woman’s right to choose. By informing women who do not know McCain’s record, Obama may be able to win over hundreds of thousands of women voters.