Virginia Republican Presidential Primary
to be Held February 29
A key consideration for pro-life voters will be that both candidates for the Democratic nomination for President are strongly pro-abortion and committed to continuing the anti-life policies of the Clinton administration. For example, when asked on ABC's This Week on October 31 whether he would support abortion on demand through his Supreme Court appointments, Vice President Al Gore denied that he would use a litmus test but said, "you could rest assured that a Supreme Court majority appointed in a Gore Administration would support a woman's right to choose." Both the Vice President and former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley support expanded Medicaid funding to cover all abortions.
Five Republican candidates filed to be on the primary ballot: Family Research Council Director Gary Bauer; Texas Governor George W. Bush, Publisher Steve Forbes; former UN Ambassador Alan Keyes; and Arizona Senator John McCain. Following is a brief rundown with recent statements or positions from each candidate, taking them in alphabetical order. Be sure to watch for additional statements from the candidates as the primary approaches.
Gary Bauer
Gary Bauer supports a Human Life Bill defining unborn children as persons under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. He also supports outlawing partial-birth abortion and prohibiting U.S. international aid from financing abortion overseas. Mr. Bauer says, "we seek an America that is faithful to our nation's constituting commitment to the equal worth and dignity of all human beings. Our America is one in which every child is welcomed in life and protected by law. Ours is an America that refuses to view an innocent child as its mother's enemy or as an aggressor against her liberty." If elected, he has pledged to immediately issue executive orders similar to those issued by President Bush prohibiting abortion in U.S. military hospitals, banning the use of tissue obtained from aborted children in government-funded research, forbidding abortion referrals and counseling in federally-funded clinics, and cutting off U.S. government funds to organizations that promote abortion.
George W. Bush
Front runner George W. Bush told CNN's Larry King on Dec. 17, "My goal as president is for every child, born and unborn, to be protected by law and welcomed to life." He expressed support for a "pro-life" Republican Party platform and a constitutional amendment banning abortion. He supports an amendment to ban all abortion except in cases of incest, rape, or to protect a woman's life. When asked on NBC's Meet the Press in November whether he would demand to know a person's position on abortion before making a Supreme Court nomination, he replied that he would want to know whether the person would "strictly interpret the Constitution." Asked by host Tim Russert which Supreme Court justices he likes most, he named pro-life justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. He added his support for a partial-birth abortion ban, a 24-hour waiting period before abortion, and parental notification. He also vetoed a measure in Texas that would have allowed hospitals to withdraw life-support without the consent of a patient or his surrogate. Kate Michelman, president of the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) Foundation, said Gov. Bush has proven that he wants to end legal abortion through his actions. "George W. Bush is fervently anti-choice," she said. "As governor of Texas, he signed nine anti-choice provisions in 1999 alone, more than any other governor in the country. In all, Governor Bush has signed 18 provisions aimed at restricting reproductive choice for the women of Texas." Apparently, Ms. Michelman has focused her attacks on Gov. Bush because she thinks he is the only pro-life candidate who has a chance of being elected.
Steve Forbes
Often criticized four years ago for a weak pro-life position, Steve Forbes has left no doubt about his pro-life position this time. "I believe that freedom includes the freedom to be born. This is a separate being,'' Mr. Forbes told a group of pro-abortion protestors at a forum in Arizona on December 5. He told them, "Life is God-endowed, not state-endowed.'' Mr. Forbes has said he would sign a ban on partial birth abortions, require parental consent for abortions and ban the use of fetal tissue in testing and research. He also pledged a running mate and future judicial appointments who are against abortion. He made news in September when he announced he would withhold further donations to Princeton University as long as pro-infanticide professor Peter Singer is there. Mr. Forbes is a Princeton alumnus who also sits on the university's board of trustees. "Peter Singer rationalizes invidious discrimination against the unborn, infants, the disabled, the infirm, and the elderly," he wrote. "Such lethal discrimination is both intolerable and unconscionable."
Alan Keyes
Alan Keyes expresses his solid pro-life position in terms of our American historical heritage: "If the Declaration of Independence states our creed, there can be no right to abortion, since it means denying the most fundamental right of all, to human offspring in the womb. The Declaration states plainly that we are all created equal, endowed by our Creator with our human rights. But if human beings can decide who is human and who is not, the doctrine of God-given rights is utterly corrupted. Abortion is the unjust taking of a human life and a breach of the fundamental principles of our public moral creed." On a related subject, he states, "As for the 'so-called right to suicide' and related practices, such as euthanasia, … they represent a violation of the principles of the Declaration of Independence. Our rights, including the right to life, are unalienable. If we kill ourselves or consent to allow another to do so, we both destroy and surrender our life. ... We usurp the authority that belongs solely to the Creator, and deny the basis of our claim to human rights."
John McCain
John McCain has a generally pro-life voting record in the U.S. Senate. He "opposes abortion with exceptions for rape, incest and at any time when the life of the mother is endangered by the pregnancy." He supports the partial-birth abortion ban and opposes taxpayer money for abortion or for international organizations that provide or facilitate abortion. However, during the Bush Administration, Senator McCain voted repeatedly for efforts to overturn a pro-life policy of President Bush that prohibited federal funding of certain forms of experimentation utilizing tissue taken from aborted babies. In 1997, during consideration of a McCain bill to expand federal research into Parkinson's disease, Senator McCain successfully opposed a pro-life amendment that was offered to prevent the funds from being used for abortion-dependent fetal tissue research. More recently, Senator McCain caused concern when he told the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board on August 19, "I'd love to see a point where it [Roe v. Wade] is irrelevant, and could be repealed because abortion is no longer necessary. But certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to (undergo) illegal and dangerous operations." He later issued another statement saying that he would "work toward its [Roe v. Wade] repeal," but also would "work with both pro-life and pro-choice Americans so that we can eliminate the need for abortions . . ." This prompted NRLC Executive Director David O'Steen, to comment, "The National Right to Life Committee vigorously disagrees with Senator McCain's repeated assertions that there is a 'need' to kill unborn children." He caused further concern at NRLC on Oct. 23 when, according to the Associated Press, he answered a question by saying in part, that the traditional adversaries can agree on the need for adoption and foster care and get beyond the debate over abortion, which interest groups want to keep alive because it helps them raise money. NRLC President Wanda Franz called this a grave insult to all pro-life activists, commenting that over 1.3 million abortions last year hardly support his suggestion that legal protection for unborn children is a manufactured issue.
Steve Forbes
Often criticized four years ago for a weak pro-life position, Steve Forbes has left no doubt about his pro-life position this time. "I believe that freedom includes the freedom to be born. This is a separate being,'' Mr. Forbes told a group of pro-abortion protestors at a forum in Arizona on December 5. He told them, "Life is God-endowed, not state-endowed.'' Mr. Forbes has said he would sign a ban on partial birth abortions, require parental consent for abortions and ban the use of fetal tissue in testing and research. He also pledged a running mate and future judicial appointments who are against abortion. He made news in September when he announced he would withhold further donations to Princeton University as long as pro-infanticide professor Peter Singer is there. Mr. Forbes is a Princeton alumnus who also sits on the university's board of trustees. "Peter Singer rationalizes invidious discrimination against the unborn, infants, the disabled, the infirm, and the elderly," he wrote. "Such lethal discrimination is both intolerable and unconscionable."
Alan Keyes
Alan Keyes expresses his solid pro-life position in terms of our American historical heritage: "If the Declaration of Independence states our creed, there can be no right to abortion, since it means denying the most fundamental right of all, to human offspring in the womb. The Declaration states plainly that we are all created equal, endowed by our Creator with our human rights. But if human beings can decide who is human and who is not, the doctrine of God-given rights is utterly corrupted. Abortion is the unjust taking of a human life and a breach of the fundamental principles of our public moral creed." On a related subject, he states, "As for the 'so-called right to suicide' and related practices, such as euthanasia, … they represent a violation of the principles of the Declaration of Independence. Our rights, including the right to life, are unalienable. If we kill ourselves or consent to allow another to do so, we both destroy and surrender our life. ... We usurp the authority that belongs solely to the Creator, and deny the basis of our claim to human rights."
John McCain
John McCain has a generally pro-life voting record in the U.S. Senate. He "opposes abortion with exceptions for rape, incest and at any time when the life of the mother is endangered by the pregnancy." He supports the partial-birth abortion ban and opposes taxpayer money for abortion or for international organizations that provide or facilitate abortion. However, during the Bush Administration, Senator McCain voted repeatedly for efforts to overturn a pro-life policy of President Bush that prohibited federal funding of certain forms of experimentation utilizing tissue taken from aborted babies. In 1997, during consideration of a McCain bill to expand federal research into Parkinson's disease, Senator McCain successfully opposed a pro-life amendment that was offered to prevent the funds from being used for abortion-dependent fetal tissue research. More recently, Senator McCain caused concern when he told the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board on August 19, "I'd love to see a point where it [Roe v. Wade] is irrelevant, and could be repealed because abortion is no longer necessary. But certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to (undergo) illegal and dangerous operations." He later issued another statement saying that he would "work toward its [Roe v. Wade] repeal," but also would "work with both pro-life and pro-choice Americans so that we can eliminate the need for abortions . . ." This prompted NRLC Executive Director David O'Steen, to comment, "The National Right to Life Committee vigorously disagrees with Senator McCain's repeated assertions that there is a 'need' to kill unborn children." He caused further concern at NRLC on Oct. 23 when, according to the Associated Press, he answered a question by saying in part, that the traditional adversaries can agree on the need for adoption and foster care and get beyond the debate over abortion, which interest groups want to keep alive because it helps them raise money. NRLC President Wanda Franz called this a grave insult to all pro-life activists, commenting that over 1.3 million abortions last year hardly support his suggestion that legal protection for unborn children is a manufactured issue.
John McCain
John McCain has a generally pro-life voting record in the U.S. Senate. He "opposes abortion with exceptions for rape, incest and at any time when the life of the mother is endangered by the pregnancy." He supports the partial-birth abortion ban and opposes taxpayer money for abortion or for international organizations that provide or facilitate abortion. However, during the Bush Administration, Senator McCain voted repeatedly for efforts to overturn a pro-life policy of President Bush that prohibited federal funding of certain forms of experimentation utilizing tissue taken from aborted babies. In 1997, during consideration of a McCain bill to expand federal research into Parkinson's disease, Senator McCain successfully opposed a pro-life amendment that was offered to prevent the funds from being used for abortion-dependent fetal tissue research. More recently, Senator McCain caused concern when he told the San Francisco Chronicle editorial board on August 19, "I'd love to see a point where it [Roe v. Wade] is irrelevant, and could be repealed because abortion is no longer necessary. But certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to (undergo) illegal and dangerous operations." He later issued another statement saying that he would "work toward its [Roe v. Wade] repeal," but also would "work with both pro-life and pro-choice Americans so that we can eliminate the need for abortions . . ." This prompted NRLC Executive Director David O'Steen, to comment, "The National Right to Life Committee vigorously disagrees with Senator McCain's repeated assertions that there is a 'need' to kill unborn children." He caused further concern at NRLC on Oct. 23 when, according to the Associated Press, he answered a question by saying in part, that the traditional adversaries can agree on the need for adoption and foster care and get beyond the debate over abortion, which interest groups want to keep alive because it helps them raise money. NRLC President Wanda Franz called this a grave insult to all pro-life activists, commenting that over 1.3 million abortions last year hardly support his suggestion that legal protection for unborn children is a manufactured issue.Published January 2000
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