Al GORE:
Captive to the Abortion-on-Demand Lobby

As the 1992 elections drew near, NRL News ran a huge number of articles that demonstrated how solidly Bill Clinton was in the pro-abortionists' camp. With Clinton now faced with the possibility of impeachment proceedings, it is important to remember that the immediate alternative could well be even worse.

Consider this opening paragraph from the September 15, 1992, NRL News: "While Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton has earned the moniker 'Slick Willie' for his political sellout and contortions, he has a strong competitor for the title in his running mate, Senator Al Gore." When Gore insists his position on abortion has not changed, his utter disregard for the facts and willingness to simply lie about his flip-flop reminds one of nothing so much as Clinton's grand jury testimony.

Vice President Gore not only has done a sharp turnabout on abortion, he is now in thrall to the abortion-on-demand lobby. This dependence is made worse by his zealous commitment to abortion-dependent population control.

On January 22, 1997 - - the 24th anniversary of Roe v. Wade - - Gore was the featured speaker at a National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) luncheon. He told his enthusiastic audience that the "right to choose is fundamental, lodged in our Constitution, affirmed by our Supreme Court." His primary applause line followed: "On behalf of President Clinton, I vow to you here, and to all listening, that we will never, ever let anyone take that right away."

Gore has indeed come a long way. His positions on abortion- related public policy issues have shifted markedly during his political career. During his eight years in the U.S. House (1977- 84), representing a conservative Tennessee district, Gore accumulated an 84% positive voting record from NRLC, and a 20% positive record from NARAL.

On June 26, 1984, Gore voted in favor of the one-sentence Siljander Amendment, which would have amended the federal Civil Rights Act to declare "the term 'person' shall include unborn children from the moment of conception." This amendment would " deny Federal funds to any institution performing abortions," Congressman Siljander explained (Congressional Record, June 26, 1984, p.H 7047). In addition, Gore voted against federal funding of abortion.

As late as 1987, Gore wrote, "During my 11 years in Congress, I have consistently opposed federal funding of abortion. In my opinion, it is wrong to spend federal funds for what is arguably the taking of a human life."

However, during his years in the Senate, Gore's voting record quickly moved in a pro-abortion direction.

In 1988, once he began to actively seek the presidency, Gore repeatedly attempted to deny his previous support for various pro-life policies. For example, asked on Meet the Press about his vote in favor of the Siljander Amendment, Gore simply denied that he had cast such a vote. A Gore campaign advisor later told U.S. News & World Report, "Since there's a record of that vote, we have only one choice. In effect, what we have to do is deny, deny, deny....We've muddled the point, and with luck, attention will turn elsewhere..." (March 7, 1988, page 29).

This shift culminated in 1992, only two weeks prior to his selection as Bill Clinton's running mate, when he co-sponsored the so-called "Freedom of Choice Act." FOCA would have invalidated even the limited state regulations on abortion permitted by the Supreme Court, such as 24-hour waiting periods and parental consent requirements.

In 1992, appearing again on Meet the Press, Gore said, "I have had the same position [on abortion] since the beginning." On that same September 6 program, NBC News correspondent Lisa Myers asked Gore about his co-sponsorship of FOCA. When she noted that FOCA "would prohibit states from restricting abortion, even after the fetus can live outside the womb, if the abortion is necessary for the life or health of the mother...which the committee report defines [as] emotional as well as physical health," Gore did not dispute Myers's accurate characterization. He merely reiterated that "I believe that the woman ought to have the right to choose."

EXPORTING ABORTION
As Clinton's vice president, Gore has been an ambassador to pro- abortion advocacy groups, and has attacked as "extremist" some of the very pro-life polices he supported as a congressman.

In a 1993 keynote address to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, Gore bragged how Clinton "in his first full day in office changed the so-called 'Mexico City' policy, and acted to promote access to the full range of quality reproductive health care for women everywhere." The Mexico City Policy, adopted by President Reagan and strongly defended by President Bush, cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid to organizations that promote abortion in lesser developed nations.

In UN conference after UN conference, the U.S. delegation, with Gore's encouragement, has worked to institute abortion as a global "human right." Sometimes that advocacy has been outfront; often the U.S. delegation used other nations to front for the Clinton/ Gore agenda.

The mentality at work was contained in a March 16, 1994, State Department cable sent to all U.S. embassies abroad. Sent by then- Secretary of State Warren Christopher, it urged them "to approach host governments" to lobby for the Administration's abortion doctrine: "The United States believes that access to safe, legal and voluntary abortion is a fundamental right of all women. ..."

With all this background, it is understandable, when Gore appeared on NBC's Meet the Press Sept. 6, 1992, why Myers asked him, "How can you go from believing that abortion is arguably the taking of human life to supporting late-term abortions for reasons of health without changing your point of view?"

Gore gave no answer.