Obama says he was too flip on abortion issue

He says question about when a baby is entitled to human rights is ‘tough’

EPA	Road to the nomination Sen. Barack Obama becomes the first African-American presidential nominee of a major political party. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.
	Cartoons: Obama MSNBC.com's editorial cartoonists weigh in on Obama's candidacy.
Polaris	Slide show: A call to serve Sen. Barack Obama answers the call to public service.

Slide show

Image: Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama

Race for the presidency
The trips, the speeches, and the moments of Decision ’08. A look at the campaigns of Barack Obama and John McCain.

more photos

updated 4:09 p.m. ET Sept. 7, 2008

WASHINGTON - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama acknowledged Sunday that he was probably too flip when he said it was "above my pay grade" to answer a question about when is a baby entitled to human rights.

Obama gave his answer last month at a nationally televised religious forum sponsored by minister Rick Warren at his megachurch in Orange County, Calif.

Asked on Sunday whether the "above my pay grade" answer was too flip, Obama said: "Probably. ...What I intended to say is that, as a Christian, I have a lot of humility about understanding when does the soul enter into ... It's a pretty tough question.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

"And so, all I meant to communicate was that I don't presume to be able to answer these kinds of theological questions," he said in an interview broadcast Sunday on ABC's "This Week."

In a separate interview, the answer to a similar question came easier for Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden.

Video
Obama's worldview
Aug. 16: Barack Obama gives Pastor Rick Warren his world view and opinions on abortion, marriage, education and taxes.
MSNBC
A Roman Catholic, Biden said he accepts his church's teachings that life begins at conception, but that the issue is personal for him. He said it wouldn't be right to impose his views on others who are just as religious as he is.

"I'm prepared as a matter of faith to accept that life begins at the moment of conception. But that is my judgment," Biden said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "For me to impose that judgment on everyone else who is equally and maybe even more devout than I am seems to me is inappropriate in a pluralistic society."