politics Decision 2012: On The Issues Obama and Romney on abortion, Iran, Israel and more. NEW YORK (JTA) IRANIAN NUCLEAR TA reviews the positions of presidential candidates Barack Obama, the Democratic incum- bent, and Republican challenger Mitt Romney on some issues of importance to the Jewish community. PROGRAM j Obama: ABORTION Obama: Obama says he is "committed to protecting a woman's right to choose" and has sug- gested that the Supreme Court decision affirming abortion rights — Roe v. Wade — is "probably hanging in the balance" this election. Obama has opposed efforts to de-fund Planned Parenthood, citing its work as a provider of women's health care services. Romney: The Republican nominee vows to be "a pro- life president" and has repudiated his previ- ous backing for abortion rights, though he supports allowing abortion in instances of rape, incest and danger to the health or life of the mother. He wants the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, thus allowing states to set their own abortion laws. Romney has said that there is "no leg- islation with regards to abortion that I'm familiar with that would become part of my agenda." He has said that he would support a constitutional amendment that defines life as beginning at conception. He advocates ending federal funding of Planned Parenthood, citing its role as an abortion provider. HEALTH CARE Obama: The president says that the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — often referred to as "Obamacare" — is a historic advance. The law aims to make coverage universal by offering federal sub- sidies for many insurance buyers, expand- ing Medicaid eligibility for low-income 42 November 1 • 2012 President Obama and challenger Mitt Romney differ on several issues of importance to the Jewish community. (Graphics by Uri Fintzy) families, setting up health insurance exchanges to offer choices and mandating that everyone has insurance or be subject to a penalty. It bans discrimination on the basis of preexisting conditions and prohib- its lifetime caps on coverage. On Medicare, the president touts the health reform law's provisions that he says help close the "doughnut hole" in the program's prescription drug benefit and achieve an estimated $716 billion in future Medicare cost savings. He opposes what he characterizes as Romney's plan to turn Medicare into a "voucher" program, arguing that it would be costly for seniors. The Obama cam- paign says that the Republican nominee's proposed cap on federal Medicaid spend- ing growth amounts to a dramatic cutting of the budget for the federal-state program that provides health coverage to the needy. Obama touts the health care reform law's requirement that insurers cover con- traception. Romney: The Republican nominee promises to work immediately to repeal the health care reform law. He says that individual states should have the ability to craft their own approaches to health care. He says he wants to promote greater competition in the health care system and give consumers more choices. Romney proposes transforming Medicare into what he calls a "premium support system." Under the system, seniors would receive a defined contribution amount from the government that could be applied toward an array of private insurance options that Romney says would have to be comparable to what Medicare offers, as well as a traditional government- provided Medicare option that would compete with the private plans. If a plan's premium exceeds the government's con- tribution, seniors who choose such a plan would pay the difference. He promises Medicare would remain unchanged for current beneficiaries and those now near- ing retirement age. He accuses the president of cutting $716 billion from Medicare in order to pay for the other provisions of the health reform law. Romney has called for transforming Medicaid into a program in which the federal government gives block grants to the states and allows them greater flex- ibility to define eligibility and benefits. He would place a strict cap on the annual rate of increase in the federal government's contribution to Medicaid, limiting it to 1 percent above inflation. The president has said that it is "unaccept- able" for Iran to have a nuclear weapon and the United States is "going to take all options necessary to make sure they don't have a nuclear weapon:' He has ruled out the possibility of simply containing a nuclear-armed Iran. Obama says his administration has "organized the strongest coalition and the strongest sanctions against Iran in history," noting the damage that has been done to the Iranian economy. He said that in any negotiated deal, the Iranians would have to "convince the international community they are not pur- suing a nuclear program," and that there should be "very intrusive inspections" Obama said Iran would not be allowed to perpetually engage in negotiations that lead nowhere." He accuses Romney of having "often talked as if we should take premature mili- tary action." " Romney: The Republican nominee calls a nuclear Iran "the greatest threat the world faces, the greatest national security threat." He says that Iran must be prevented from get- ting "a nuclear weapons capability:' Romney says he supports the further tightening of sanctions against Iran and accuses the Obama administration of not moving aggressively enough on this front. Romney's running mate, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, says the Obama administration has failed to convey to the Iranians that there is a credible threat of U.S. military action. Romney later said "military action is the last resort. It is something one would only, only consider if all of the other ave- nues had been — had been tried to their full extent." Romney said that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should be indict- ed for incitement to genocide over his ver- bal attacks on Israel's existence. Decision 2012 on page 44