YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    A pro-life visiting policy at the Obama White House?

    By | The Ticket – Tue, May 8, 2012

    Spoiler: "No."

    Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann on Tuesday evening tweeted a link to a sensational story by the conservative Washington Free Beacon accusing the Obama White House of hypocrisy because…well, here's how the Beacon put it:

    "The White House Visitors Office requires that an unborn child—still residing in utero—must be counted as a full human being when its parents register for a White House tour, according to documents obtained by the Washington Free Beacon." http://freebeacon.com/no-birth-certificate-required/

    Bachmann's take, condensed to Twitter's 140 characters, was "The White House Visitors Office recognizes #personhood of unborn babies yet its occupant doesn't? http://tiny.cc/ise0dw #prolife"

    The Beacon excerpted an email from the White House Visitors Office that asks expectant parents to register their future bundle of joy, "crazy as it may sound." They should give their family name as the last name, "baby" as the first name, "NMN" ("No Middle Name") and the like. The email goes on to say that "once the baby is born," the parents should update the information.

    Wait. "Once the baby is born"? Well, yes: The policy is designed for those rare instances in which a pregnant woman's White House tour is scheduled near, or after, her due date, several officials familiar with the policy explained to Yahoo News. That's because if Mom, Dad and Son registered to be cleared by the Secret Service, but Mom, Dad, Son and Little Sis show up at the White House, their security clearance is out of whack. And good luck getting the Secret Service to babysit."All White House tour guests, regardless of age, are required to provide identification information as part of the tour request. This includes children and infants," according to Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary.

    "In the particular instance of an infant yet to be born at the time of the tour request, if they are expected to participate in the tour parents are expected to provide basic information as a placeholder," he told Yahoo News by telephone. "This placeholder information must be updated after the birth of the child and prior to the tour."

    "This procedure was implemented to expedite tour requests by ensuring that all tour attendees are accounted for, as well as eliminating any delays that may occur if a tour guest arrives with a newborn that was not submitted as part of the original tour request," Leary said.

    More popular Yahoo! News stories:

    • Romney: Obama is leading the country 'sideways or worse'

    • Obama using health care law to court Latinos

    • RNC Hispanic outreach director: Romney 'still deciding what his position on immigration is'

    Want more of our best political stories? Visit The Ticket or connect with us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or add us on Tumblr. Handy with a camera? Join our Election 2012 Flickr group to submit your photos of the campaign in action.

    Loading...

    News for You »

    • Boyfriend espaces out window as husband confronts cheating wife [VIDEO]

      As part of perhaps the most spectacular walk-of-shame ever, an underwear-clad lover escaped from a third floor bedroom as the returning husband confronted his cheating wife on a balcony.

    • AP photographer describes destroyed Okla. school

      MOORE, Okla. (AP) — I left the office in Oklahoma City as soon as I saw the tornado warnings on TV. I had photographed about a dozen twisters before in the past decade, and knew that if I didn't get in my car before the funnel cloud hit, it would be too late.

    • Rescues, Grim Recoveries at Elementary School After the OK Tornado

      There's a reason that many eyes were on Plaza Towers Elementary as Moore, Oklahoma began to assess the damage from a deadly, devastating tornado that blasted through the town Monday evening and killed at least 51 people: the school was leveled, with dozens of children still inside. And so far, some of the most emotionally charged news has emerged from the story unfolding there. 

    • Kids rescued from rubble at Okla. elementary

      MOORE, Okla. (AP) — Several children have been pulled out of the rubble alive at a school in an Oklahoma City suburb.

    • Virginia Republicans Panicking Over Their Choice for Lieutenant Governor

      A minister who compared gays to pedophiles and Planned Parenthood to the Klu Klux Klan is not the No. 2 candidate Republican Party reformers had in mind for the marquee race of 2013.

    • Navy Dolphin Finds Rare 130-Year-Old Torpedo

      A Navy dolphin training to look for mines off the coast of San Diego found a museum-worthy 19th-century torpedo on the seafloor, military officials said.

    • 18-foot-8-inch python caught in South Florida

      MIAMI (AP) — Wildlife officials say a Burmese python nearly 19 feet long has been captured in South Florida.

    • BREAKING: Subway Just as Unhealthy as McDonald’s!

      If you watched the London Olympics last summer, you saw a parade of top athletes touting the nutritional qualities of their favorite eatery: Subway. Watching Apolo Ohno or Robert Griffin III bite into a veggie footlong with avocado or hearing that Subway is “the official training restaurant of athletes everywhere,” you might get the idea that the food served at the chain isn’t that bad for you—that it’s even healthy.

    Show More
    Loading...

    Follow Yahoo! News