Tancredo Says He Would Support Sonogram Use, Halt Federal Funding To Clinics That Perform Abortions If Elected President

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: MRI / PET / Ultrasound;  Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 16 Oct 2007 - 6:00 PDT

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Rep. Tom Tancredo (Colo.), who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, on Friday said he would support the use of sonograms for women considering having an abortion and try to halt federal funding to clinics that perform abortions, the Des Moines Register reports.

"As president, I will do everything in my power to support and promote the use of sonograms so that women are informed about their unborn child before making the decision to abort," Tancredo in a statement said after visiting the Women's Choice Center in Bettendorf, Iowa. The center provides no-cost sonograms and other services to discourage pregnant women from having abortions.

He also said that he would try to stop "any type of federal funding for Planned Parenthood" clinics and that he believes Roe v. Wade -- the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case that effectively barred state abortion bans -- should be overturned. Jill June, president of Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa, said that the best way to reduce abortions is to provide more funding for contraception programs, adding that Tancredo "really doesn't have the facts, and he's out of touch with mainstream voters" (Pulliam, Des Moines Register, 10/13).

Romney Comments on Roe, Constitutional Amendment
In related news, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who also is running for the Republican presidential nomination, when asked Friday if he would support a constitutional ban on abortions, said, "I would love to see an America where there was no abortion, but that's not where the American people are," the AP/Google.com reports. Speaking at a town hall meeting in Sparks, Nev., Romney added, "What I do want to see, and where I think the American people are today, is to see a conservative jurist on the Supreme Court and to see Roe v. Wade overturned" (Sonner, AP/Google.com, 10/12).

Top advisers in August said Romney supports a two-tiered process in which states first would obtain authority to regulate abortion after Roe is overturned. The second step would be a constitutional amendment that bans most abortions nationwide (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 9/6).

In other election news, PBS' "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer" on Friday included a discussion with Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) about abortion and other issues (Woodruff, "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer," PBS, 10/12). Audio and a transcript of the segment are available online. Video will be available Monday afternoon.

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.