Republican Presidential Candidates Discuss Abortion, Other Issues At Family Research Council Summit

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Women's Health / Gynecology
Article Date: 23 Oct 2007 - 5:00 PDT

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Several Republican presidential candidates on Friday and Saturday discussed abortion and other issues at the "Values Voter" summit hosted by the Family Research Council in Washington, D.C., the Washington Post reports.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani on Saturday at the summit called on religious and social conservatives to overlook differences on abortion and other issues. "People of good conscience come to different conclusions about whether abortions should be legal in some circumstances," Giuliani said, adding that he believes "all Americans share the same goal. A country without abortions." Giuliani added that if elected president, he would appoint judges who would strictly interpret the Constitution (Balz, Washington Post, 10/21).

FRC President Tony Perkins said Giuliani's speech was sincere but added that he likely would be unable to overlook Giuliani's support for abortion rights. "It's not something that can be paved over easily," Perkins said, adding that his position on abortion rights "remains the same, as I think it does for a number of pro-life conservatives -- that we draw a line that we will not cross in supporting a pro-abortion-rights candidate" (Wallsten, Los Angeles Times, 10/21).

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at the summit said that social conservatives should continue to oppose abortion rights (Washington Post, 10/21). Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney at the summit said that if elected, he would oppose taxpayer funding of abortion, so-called "partial-birth" abortion and abortions performed at military clinics. He added that he would "work to ban" human embryonic cloning (Shear, Washington Post, 10/20). Former Sen. Fred Thompson (Tenn.) said that if elected, he would veto any legislation that "funds or supports" abortion. Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) emphasized his consistent opposition to abortion rights, saying he is the "only major candidate in either party" who has been "pro-life" his or her "entire public career" (Luo, New York Times, 10/20).

Romney led a straw poll conducted during the summit, for which votes could be cast online, with 27.6% of the 5,775 votes cast. Huckabee came in second with 27.1%, followed by Rep. Ron Paul (Texas) with 15%, Thompson with 9.8% and Giuliani with less than 2%. McCain finished last among the nine candidates, the New York Times reports (Luo, New York Times, 10/21).

Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.) over the weekend officially withdrew from the 2008 presidential race. Brownback -- who "spent much of his campaign talking about Christian values and stressing his stance against abortion" -- withdrew after announcing that his campaign had $94,000 in cash. "We're out of money," Brownback said (Washington Post, 10/20).

Eight Republican Presidential Candidates Discuss Abortion, Other Issues at Fox News Debate
In related news, eight Republican presidential candidates in a debate sponsored by Fox News on Sunday in Orlando, Fla., discussed abortion and which candidate is the "most conservative," USA Today reports.

Thompson during the debate challenged Giuliani's claims that he is a conservative, citing Giuliani's support for abortion rights and other issues. McCain criticized Romney's shift from supporting to opposing abortion rights, saying Romney is "trying to fool people about [his] record" on abortion (Jackson, USA Today, 10/22). Giuliani and McCain "tried to convince Republicans that conservatism is not about checking off policy positions on issues like abortion" but is about "broader principles and opposition to ... liberalism," according to the New York Times (Cooper/Santora, New York Times, 10/22).

When answering a question about his lobbying record, Thompson said the work was for his "private law practice, as opposed to [his] public service." He also stressed his antiabortion record in the Senate, according to the Los Angeles Times (Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 10/22).

Broadcast Coverage
C-SPAN video of the summit is available online. The segment includes speeches by Rep. Tom Tancredo (Colo.), Thompson, Rep. Duncan Hunter (Calif.), Paul, former Ambassador Alan Keyes and Romney (C-SPAN, 10/19).

Several broadcast programs reported on the summit, candidates' positions on abortion rights and other election-related issues.

• CBS' "Face the Nation": The segment includes a discussion with Romney about abortion rights and other issues (Schieffer, "Face the Nation," CBS, 10/21). Video of the segment is available online. A transcript of the complete program also is available online.
  
  
• CNN's "The Situation Room": The segment includes comments from McCain, Thompson, Tancredo and Republican pollster Whit Ayres (King, "The Situation Room," CNN, 10/19). Video of the segment is available online. A transcript of the segment also is available online.
  
  
• Fox News' "Special Report with Brit Hume": The segment includes comments from Perkins, Thompson, McCain and summit participants (Garrett, "Special Report with Brit Hume," Fox News, 10/19). Video of the segment is available online. Friday's program also included a discussion with Fox News political correspondent Carl Cameron about the summit ("Special Report with Brit Hume," Fox News, 10/19). Video of the segment is available online.
  
  
• MSNBC's "Hardball with Chris Matthews": The segment includes comments from McCain, Romney, Giuliani, Thompson and Huckabee (Shuster, "Hardball with Chris Matthews," MSNBC, 10/19). Video of the segment is available online.
  
  
• NPR's "All Things Considered": The segment includes comments from McCain, Thompson; Huckabee; Giuliani; Romney; Gary Bauer, president of American Values; and summit participants (Seabrook, "All Things Considered," NPR, 10/20). Audio of the segment is available online.
  

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