Advocates slam McCain over abortion remark

Abortion rights advocates are jumping all over John McCain's answers during Wednesday night's debate, when he suggested that the "women's health" exception to abortion restrictions is sometimes abuse.

They are particularly aggrieved that McCain used the air quotes motion during the discussion.

"If McCain is going to regret anything from last night's debate, it just may be his mocking women's health to a national audience," Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said in a statement. "His disregard for women's health caused a national gasp, as McCain let slip the truth about his extreme position on choice -- a reality he tends to save for speeches to his far-right base. If women in this country are still undecided, they won't be after watching last night's debate."

Women's groups are focusing on abortion to reach out to female voters -- particularly those who supported Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama during the Democratic primaries -- who might be tempted to support McCain.

Obama supports Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

McCain supports overturning Roe, letting the states pass their own laws, and eventually ending abortion through more adoption and prevention of unwanted pregnancies.