New York Times Examines Sen Clinton's Call for 'Common Ground' on Abortion Rights, Increased Focus on 'Values' Issues

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 02 Feb 2005 - 9:00 PDT

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.The New York Times on Tuesday profiled what some call Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-N.Y.) changing themes and motives on "values" issues -- including faith, abortion and gay marriage -- as "she enters a new phase of her public life." Rodham Clinton has garnered "considerable attention" for her recent comments calling for "common ground" on abortion rights, and while some observers say her remarks indicate a "calculated effort" to position herself to run for president in 2008, others say that her comments represent her "true convictions," not a change in views, according to the Times (Hernandez, New York Times, 2/1). Of particular note, Rodham Clinton last week in a speech to mark the 32nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade -- the 1973 Supreme Court decision that struck down state bans on abortion -- called abortion "sad, even tragic" and offered "conciliatory language" that people of differing opinions could find "common ground" and work together to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies. Although some Democrats and Republicans have noted that Rodham Clinton's positions have seemed more moderate in recent weeks, Philippe Reines, Rodham Clinton's press secretary, said that her opinions are not new and that she only has repeated positions on issues that she has previously outlined. "As Sen. Clinton has done for over a decade, she emphasized her desire to focus on making abortions safe, legal and rare, and she emphasized that we should be able to find some common ground," Reines said (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 1/31). Some people, including Democratic allies, maintain that Rodham Clinton's speech and its timing are "politically noteworthy," especially when the Democratic Party is considering "soften[ing] its stance on abortion in order to appeal to religious conservatives," according to the Times (New York Times, 2/1). The complete article is available online

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health 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.

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