Newark Star-Ledger Examines Abortion Positions Of Republican Candidates For U.S. Senate

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 13 May 2008 - 9:00 PDT

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The Newark Star-Ledger on Friday examined the views on abortion of the three Republican candidates for an open New Jersey U.S. Senate seat. According to the Star-Ledger, former U.S. Rep. Dick Zimmer, state Sen. Joseph Pennacchio and Murray Sabrin, a professor at Ramapo College who ran for governor as a Libertarian in 1997, all oppose so-called "partial-birth" abortion but their views on other abortion restrictions vary.

Zimmer said that he had voted against a federal ban on partial-birth abortion while in Congress but has since changed his position. Zimmer said his support for abortion rights is based on his belief in "limited government." He added, "Government should play a minimal part in people's private lives. As a general rule, the government should not interfere in a decision that should be made by a woman and her doctor and her spiritual adviser and her family." Zimmer added that he supports "reasonable restrictions" on abortion, such as parental notification.

Sabrin, during a debate at Fairleigh Dickinson University in late April, said he is "pro-life" but opposes national mandates related to abortion. "Roe v. Wade was an inappropriate decision, and I've always believed this should be handled at the state level, as it was prior to Roe," Sabin said, adding, "Being pro-life does not mean you want one-size-fits-all for the country. I believe that would be a mistake." Pennacchio said Sabin "punted" during the debate. He added, "People want to know where you stand. They don't want you to go to Washington and punt [the issue] back to the states." Pennacchio said that his views on abortion have "evolved," adding that he now wants to amend the U.S. Constitution to state that life begins at conception.

Richard Collier -- president of the Morristown, N.J.-based Legal Center for the Defense of Life -- said the difference between Pennacchio and Sabrin come down mainly to "tactics." According to the Star-Ledger, the Legal Center for the Defense of Life does not make political endorsements. Marie Tasy, executive director of New Jersey Right to Life, said it expects to make an endorsement in the Senate primary "soon," adding that the group has sent questionnaires to Sabrin and Pennacchio. Tasy said the group knows where Zimmer "stands." Peter Wooley, executive director of Fairleigh Dickinson University's Public Mind poll, said abortion is "problematic for Republicans in New Jersey." He added that opposing abortion rights can be an advantage in the primary but that "it would be very difficult to win a statewide race in New Jersey as a pro-life candidate" (Schwaneberg, Newark Star-Ledger, 5/9).

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