Democratic Presidential Candidates Discuss Abortion Rights, Supreme Court Ruling On Partial Birth Abortion In Debate

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Medical Malpractice / Litigation;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 01 May 2007 - 3:00 PDT

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Eight candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday in a debate at South Carolina State University "uniformly criticized" the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last week to uphold a federal law (S 3) banning so-called "partial-birth" abortion, the Washington Post reports (Balz, Washington Post, 4/27). Several of the candidates said that if they were elected president they would not impose a litmus test on any potential nominees to the Supreme Court, but added that their appointees to the bench would reflect their support for abortion rights, the AP/Manchester Union Leader reports (AP/Manchester Union Leader, 4/27).

Sen. Joe Biden (Del.) and Rep. Dennis Kucinich (Ohio) "strongly" implied that they would appoint only abortion-rights supporters to the Supreme Court, according to the Boston Globe (Milligan, Boston Globe, 4/27). Biden said that Supreme Court's ruling on the partial-birth abortion ban was "intellectually dishonest," adding that "through dishonest reasoning" the court "laid the groundwork for undoing Roe v. Wade" -- the 1973 Supreme Court decision that effectively barred state abortion bans (AP/Yahoo! News, 4/27). Biden is the only Democratic presidential candidate to have voted for the ban in the Senate in 2003 (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 4/26). Sen. Chris Dodd (Conn.) said the court's ruling "deviate[d]" from women's health and is a "major, major setback" (Johnson, MSNBC.com, 4/27).

Romney Says McCain, Giuliani Have Changed Views on Abortion
In related news, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney -- who has been criticized for changing his views on abortion rights while running for the Republican presidential nomination -- on Thursday said candidates Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R) also have changed their views on issues such as abortion rights, the New York Times reports (Cooper, New York Times, 4/27).

Since Romney first ran for U.S. Senate in 1994, he has acknowledged that his position on abortion has changed from supporting abortion rights to saying that he would prefer to have Roe overturned. Romney in 1994 said, "I believe that abortion should be safe and legal in this country," adding, "I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years, we should sustain and support it." When he ran for Massachusetts governor in 2002, Romney promised to "preserve the status quo" on abortion rights in the state and oppose any changes to state laws that restricted or increased access to abortion. Romney in 2004 while studying human embryonic stem cell research said he experienced an awakening that led him to believe "the sanctity of life had been cheapened" by the Roe decision (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 1/4).

Romney said that McCain, who opposes abortion rights, in a 1999 interview said he opposed overturning Roe but now supports overturning the ruling. According to the Times, McCain supported a South Dakota law, which was overturned by state voters last year, that would have banned all abortions in the state except to save the life of the woman. In addition, McCain on Thursday praised the Supreme Court's ruling upholding the partial-birth abortion ban (New York Times, 4/27).

Brownback Comments on Abortion Rights, Supreme Court Ruling
Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), who also is running for the Republican presidential nomination, on Wednesday in an interview with reporters from the Christian Science Monitor touted his "pro-life, whole life" message, saying, "I believe that all life is sacred and is unique and is a beautiful child of a loving God, period. That applies to the child in the womb and the child in Darfur and somebody in prison and somebody in poverty."

Brownback said the Supreme Court ruling on the partial-birth abortion ban demonstrates that "if we work hard at it, if we're able to win the Senate and the presidency, we can see some change taking place in this country." He added, "We're one Supreme Court justice away from overturning" Roe (Feldmann, Christian Science Monitor, 4/26). According to a Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, 53% of U.S. residents support the Supreme Court's ruling to uphold the partial-birth abortion ban. The poll also found that 55% of respondents think abortion decisions should be "left up to the woman and her doctor" (Harwood, Wall Street Journal, 4/27).

NPR's "Morning Edition" on Thursday included a discussion with Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee, about last week's Supreme Court ruling (Rovner, "Morning Edition," NPR, 4/26). Audio of the segment is available online.

NPR's "Morning Edition" on Friday reported on reaction to the Supreme Court ruling and legislation introduced in Congress that would codify abortion rights in the U.S. The segment includes comments from Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.); Johnson; Rep. Maize Hirono (D-Hawaii); and Clyde Wilcox, a professor of government at Georgetown University (Rovner, "Morning Edition," NPR, 4/27). Audio of the segment is available online. The program also included a discussion with R. Alta Charo, a professor of law and ethics at the University of Wisconsin Law School, about the impact of medical progress on the abortion debate since Roe (Inskeep, "Morning Edition," NPR, 4/27). Audio of the segment is available online.

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