Palin Criticizes Obama's Abortion, Stem Cell Policies At Ind. Antiabortion-Rights Banquet

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Stem Cell Research
Article Date: 20 Apr 2009 - 0:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

Former vice presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) at an antiabortion-rights banquet in Indiana on Thursday criticized President Obama's support for abortion rights and embryonic stem cell research, calling on the crowd to continue advocating for a "culture of life" in the U.S., the AP/Google.com reports. Speaking at the Vanderburgh County Right to Life fundraising dinner, Palin said determining the stage of life when human rights should begin is not above her pay grade, a reference to Obama's answer to a question from the Rev. Rick Warren during the 2008 presidential campaign. Obama told Warren that questions regarding when human rights begin to apply were "above my pay grade."

Palin said that she challenges the ideas that children must be born "perfect" and that unintended pregnancies are an inconvenience that can be ended with abortion. According to Palin, finding out during her pregnancy with her son Trig that he would be born with Down syndrome offered her the chance to live out her antiabortion-rights beliefs. Palin said her son is "a miracle" and the "best thing that ever happened to me, and I want other women to have that opportunity." Palin also referenced her teenage daughter, Bristol, who gave birth in December 2008 after an unintended pregnancy, and said that women who cannot conceive should have the opportunity to adopt children from women considering abortion (Kusmer, AP/Google.com, 4/17).

According to Politico, about 3,000 people attended the banquet, an annual event that typically features speeches from antiabortion-rights politicians. David O'Steen, executive director of National Right to Life, said there was "a lot of excitement" about Palin's speech among antiabortion-rights advocates, adding that she is "very well known and respected in the pro-life movement."

Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele also attended the event, referring to Palin as one of "a significant number of men and women in our party who are in a very good position right now to carry forward the standard of the GOP." He said this group also includes former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, and Reps. Eric Cantor (Va.) and Mike Pence (Ind.) (Barr, Politico, 4/17).

Palin Elicits Strong Fundraising Response From Both Sides of Abortion Debate

Both supporters and foes of Palin are invoking her name to rally donations for their respective causes, a development some see as "a testament not only to her star power, but to the strong feelings she generates among partisans," Politico reports. Meg Stapleton, a spokesperson for Palin's political action committee, SarahPAC, said the organization is the only authorized fundraising campaign affiliated with Palin. However, advocates on both sides of the abortion-rights debate and other issues have been able to use Palin's name and her antiabortion-rights positions to elicit donations, Politico reports.

For example, Susan B. Anthony List, which supports female candidates who oppose abortion rights, saw an increase in its paid memberships shortly after Palin was selected as Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) running mate in the 2008 presidential election. Joy Yearout, political director for the group, said Palin's presence on the Republican ticket "invigorated us in ways that we could never have anticipated." She said that the group has continued to use Palin's name to raise funds through a social networking Web site it created, called "Team Sarah," which has 65,000 members.

According to Politico, groups that advocate for abortion rights also have received donations citing Palin's stance against the issue. Planned Parenthood spokesperson Tait Sye said that an anonymous e-mail requesting contributions to the organization in Palin's name generated more than $1 million for the organization in the month after the Republican National Convention. Ted Miller, spokesperson for NARAL Pro-Choice America, said that the group's direct mail and e-mail solicitations targeting Palin's antiabortion-rights positions helped "significantly" increase its 2008 fundraising. Miller said that even though Palin "has taken a somewhat lower profile now, if she chooses to re-emerge and take on a more public profile in either attacking President Obama or pushing anti-choice policies, our members will respond in kind" (Vogel, Politico, 4/16).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.nationalpartnership.org. You can view the entire Daily Women's Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery here. The Daily Women's Health Policy Report is a free service of the National Partnership for Women & Families, published by The Advisory Board Company.

© 2009 The Advisory Board Company. All rights reserved.

• Additional
• References
• Citations