NPR Examines Resistance to Democratic Party Plans To Take More Moderate Stance on Abortion Rights

Main Category: Abortion
Article Date: 15 Mar 2005 - 13:00 PDT

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"Morning Edition" on Monday examined how Democratic Party leaders, who have been "searching for middle ground" on the party's abortion-rights position since Democratic defeats in the November 2004 elections, have encountered opposition from some portions of the party's political base. Democratic pollster Mark Blumenthal said that 36% of people who voted for President Bush in the 2004 election said they believe abortion should be legal in some or most cases, while 21% of people who voted for Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) said they think abortion should be illegal, according to exit polls (Liasson, "Morning Edition," NPR, 3/14). In order to attract more abortion-rights opponents to the Democratic Party, some leaders have advocated changing the party's vocabulary for discussing abortion rights in order to move toward the center on the issue and broaden the movement's message (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 2/16). For example, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in January in a speech to mark the 32nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade 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 (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 3/2).

DSCC Endorsement Creates Controversy
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has signaled its preference for two antiabortion candidates -- Pennsylvania Treasurer Bob Casey Jr. (D) and Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) -- in Democratic primaries for Senate races in 2006 (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 2/16). However, NARAL Pro-Choice America President Nancy Keenan said her group, which is the largest abortion-rights organization in the United States, will continue to support only candidates who support abortion rights. In addition, abortion-rights supporter Victoria Duffy Hopper, a Los Angeles-based fundraiser and wife of actor Dennis Hopper, and 16 other high-level donors have written a letter "excoriating" DSCC for their support of antiabortion political candidates, according to NPR. Duffy Hopper said that abortion-rights supporters do not want to donate to the campaigns of candidates "who have principles that they do not support," adding that many groups that typically donate to Democratic candidates have told her that "the bank is closed" in terms of antiabortion Democratic candidates ("Morning Edition," NPR, 3/14).

The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.

"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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