By Carol Tobias
NRL Political Director
As NRL News goes to press, pro-abortion Massachusetts Senator John Kerry has taken an early lead in the delegate count for the Democratic nomination for president. As of this writing, former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, North Carolina Senator John Edwards, retired General Wesley Clark, Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich, and the Reverend Al Sharpton are still in the race.
Two candidates have already dropped out of the running following disappointing results in the early primaries and caucuses: Rep. Richard Gephardt (Mo.) and Senator Joe Lieberman (Ct.). Former Illinois Senator Carol Moseley Braun dropped out prior to the initial voting.
On February 3 Kerry carried three states and two caucuses while Edwards and Clark each won one state (South Carolina and Oklahoma, respectively). Dean has yet to win a primary. But win or lose, all have been equally strong in their pro-abortion positions, even stridently so.
Indeed, even as the political landscape changes weekly, one constant is the running battle over which Democratic presidential contender is "best" - - most supportive of unrestricted abortion. Kerry and Dean have traded barbs about who had the "better" record on abortion.
Kerry claimed, "I'm the only candidate running for president who hasn't played games, fudged around." He went on to add, "If you believe that choice is a constitutional right, and I do, and if you believe that Roe v. Wade is the embodiment of that right... I will not appoint a justice to the Supreme Court of the United States who will undo that right."
Not to be outdone, Dean responded by emphasizing his own involvement as a member of the board of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and calling into question Kerry's position on parental notification. Dean challenged Kerry, saying that "Senator Kerry has a bit of explaining to do on his position on abortion rights."
During an interview on Fox News, Kerry was asked to explain his position on parental notification. Kerry explained that he supports parental notice with a judicial bypass, but then stated, "... I think you've got to have some kind of responsible structure hopefully, and absent that you've got to respect the choices of individuals" (emphasis added).
In other words, the decision should be left up to the minor girl, which is the position that Kerry has consistently supported with his vote in the Senate.
Kerry has a strong pro-abortion voting record, including six votes against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, which Congress passed and President Bush signed last November.
In an interview with The Union Leader, in Manchester, New Hampshire, Clark expressed his opposition to any limits on "late-term" abortion, with Clark agreeing to "anything up to delivery," and even "anything up to the head coming out of the womb." Asked when life begins, he said unequivocally, "Life begins with the mother's decision." He also told the Leader that he was "not going to be appointing judges who are pro-life."
Dean was not about to take second place to Clark in the "bizarre statements" category. During a teleconference call with reporters on January 15, Dean, referring to late-term abortions, stated that, "No doctor is going to do an abortion on a live fetus [!]. That doesn't happen. Doctors don't do that. If they do, they'll get their license pulled, as well they should."
Dean, a physician, also told People magazine that he had not performed abortions because it would be "malpractice" for an internist such as himself to do so. In reality, it is legal in every state for any type of physician to perform abortions, and in a few states - - including Vermont - - it is legal for physician assistants to do so. Indeed, in Vermont, the majority of abortions are performed by non-physicians.
Edwards, like Kerry, has a strong pro-abortion voting record. During his first four years in the United States Senate, Edwards voted against the NRLC position on abortion eight out of eight times, including a vote against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.
During 2003, Edwards voted for the Harkin Amendment to the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act to endorse Roe v. Wade. He was absent for the vote on final passage of the bill. An Edwards spokesman said he would have voted against it and his campaign issued a press release attacking President Bush for signing the bill.
On the anniversary of Roe, Edwards said, "You and I know that since the Supreme Court handed down this landmark decision, forces have been hard at work trying to overturn it." He added, "The president and the Republican leadership have one goal in mind - - to overturn Roe v. Wade - - and we have a million reasons and ways to stop them, and we will start by taking back the White House in 2004."
The same day, Kerry reaffirmed that he would appoint only "pro-choice" justices to the Supreme Court. "Some may call this a litmus test - - but I call it a test of our will to uphold a Constitutional right that protects women's right to choose and to make their own decisions in consultation with their doctor, their conscience, and their God."
Although Kerry has been the most vocal in stating that he will only appoint Supreme Court justices who will uphold Roe v. Wade, all of the candidates have made similar statements.
In direct contrast to the hard-core pro-abortion positions taken by all the Democratic presidential candidates, pro-life President Bush addressed the annual March for Life in Washington. He told the massive throng, "You believe, as I do, that every person, however frail or vulnerable, is a blessing. Each of us has a special dignity, a place and purpose in this world. And in the Declaration of Independence, our founders stated this self-evident truth: The right to life does not come from government, it comes from the Creator of life." (See page 13 for the President's complete remarks.)
After listing several of his administration's many pro-life accomplishments, greeted with loud applause, Mr. Bush added, "But we all know there is still more to do."
National Right to Life PAC has endorsed President Bush for re-election.
Regardless of who wins the Democratic nomination, the contrast between the candidates will be as clear as night and day.