It does seem like old home week, doesn't it? President-elect Barack Obama continues to bring in holdovers from the Clinton era. The latest is pro-abortion former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) to head up Health and Human Services. Daschle lost his senate seat in 2004 to pro-life John Thune.

The contrast with Mike Leavitt, currently Secretary of HHS, could not be much more stark. As we've discussed here and in National Right to Life News, Leavitt has been the driving force behind a regulation to increase awareness of, and compliance with, three separate laws protecting federally funded health care providers' right of conscience. The final version could be released within days.

As a Senator and Senate leader, Daschle could bluntly vote his pro-abortion convictions. More typically he tried either to hinder pro-life proposals or offer bogus alternatives.

For example Daschle voted for the unsuccessful Feinstein Substitute Amendment, which would have wiped out the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act and replace it with a bill to allow partial-birth abortions even in the seventh month and later for emotional "health." Only after failing to kill the bill the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act with this substitute did Daschle vote for the bill. Likewise with the Unborn Victims of Violence Act (UVVA). Daschle voted for a substitute amendment that wouldn't extend criminal laws to cover unborn children. Again, only after failing to kill the UVVA with this substitute amendment did he vote for the bill.

Daschle supported embryonic stem cell research which required killing human embryos and he supported the creation of human embryos by cloning to be used in research.

Daschle also voted to endorse the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion on demand.

In 2002 Daschle also tried to help elect more pro-abortion Senate candidates. In a fundraising letter for NARAL, Daschle wrote, "If you and thousands of others pro-choice Americans like you don't act today by giving to NARAL's Save the Senate Campaign, the U.S. Senate could fall into anti-choice [that would be pro-life] hands…"

His pro-abortion advocacy drew sharp criticism from Bishop Robert Carlson, the bishop of the Diocese of Sioux Falls. Bishop Carlson told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader that he was bewildered by Daschle's position. "NARAL claims him as one of their number-one supporters.

I don't understand how he can be in touch with South Dakotans as much as he is, and yet consistently have a pro-abortion record."

Part One