By Carol Tobias, NRL Political Director
The Democratic National Convention held in Boston July 26-29 proved once again that those with a pro-life view are not welcome in the party. From the pro-abortion platform that was adopted, to Ron Reagan, Jr.'s speech hailing "embryonic stem cell research" (he was actually advocating human cloning), to Planned Parenthood President Gloria Feldt delivering a speech from the dais, the pro-abortion voice of the party came through loud and clear.
The Democratic National Convention culminated with staunchly pro-abortion Senators John Kerry and John Edwards accepting the presidential and vice presidential nominations of the Democratic Party.
In unmistakable terms, Kerry and Edwards present a clear contrast to the pro-life ticket of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
Kerry and Edwards, if elected, would prevent any effective limitation on abortion, even the grisly partial-birth abortion technique. They oppose requiring parents to be notified before an abortion is performed on their minor daughter and they support taxpayer-funded abortion. And Kerry has been very clear in his intent to nominate only pro-abortion justices to the United States Supreme Court.
Convention delegates adopted a platform that, in effect, re-defines pro-life Democrats as Republicans and clearly conveyed contempt for their values. The platform reads, "...we stand proudly for a woman's right to choose, consistent with Roe v. Wade, and regardless of her ability to pay. We stand firmly against Republican efforts to undermine that right" (emphasis added).
But in an April 2004 Zogby poll, nearly half of the self-identified Democrats disagreed with Roe v. Wade. A total of 47% of the respondents said they support abortion only to save the life of the mother; only in cases of life, rape, and incest; or not at all. From the wording of the Democratic platform, it was apparent that convention delegates were not interested in understanding or accepting the pro-life position of almost half of fellow Democrats.
The platform also calls for using human embryos for research in experiments that will kill each newly developing life. It states, "President Bush has rejected the calls from Nancy Reagan, Christopher Reeve and Americans across the land for assistance with embryonic stem cell research. We will reverse his wrongheaded policy."
The truth is that President Bush supports stem cell research from adult stem cells or stem cells derived by methods that do not kill a human embryo. What Mr. Bush opposes is federal funding of research that requires killing human embryos.
As numerous commentators observed, Democrats believe that they can use stem cell research as a "wedge" issue. But this can work only if they confuse the voters about what is taking place and manage to keep hidden the fact that it is sources other than human embryos that offer all the promise in helping to cure or remedy diseases.
This manipulation began with the platform, followed by a speech during prime time delivered by Ron Reagan, Jr., son of the late President Ronald Reagan. It was packaged and delivered in two highly misleading ways.
First, Reagan Jr. assured his audience that "I am not here to make a political speech," yet ended his remarks with this plea: "Whatever else you do come November 2nd, I urge you, please, cast a vote for embryonic stem cell research."
Second, his remarks weren't about embryonic stem cell research, but an out-and-out call for human cloning. (See editorial, page two.)
Adding insult to injury is that many who support embryonic stem cell research invoke the name of former President Reagan. They often state that research using these stem cells may find a cure for Alzheimer's, which afflicted the late president.
Although he did not mention it at in his July 26 prime time speech, a few days prior Reagan Jr. admitted to Chris Matthews on MSNBC's Hardball, "Alzheimer's is a disease, ironically, that probably won't be amenable to treatment through stem cell therapies."
But the distortion was not merely that there is virtually no chance that embryonic stem cells (or cloned embryonic stem cells) would remedy Alzheimer's. President Reagan's oldest son, Michael, made it clear that President Reagan "would have opposed the creation of human embryos for the sole purpose of using their stem cells as possible medical cures." Other old friends of the late president have expressed similar judgments.
For example, in his 1983 book, Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation, President Reagan wrote, "Every legislator, every doctor, and every citizen needs to recognize that the real issue is whether to affirm and protect the sanctity of all human life, or to embrace a social ethic where some human lives are valued and others are not. As a nation, we must choose between the sanctity of life ethic and the 'quality of life' ethic." (See page 31 for information on how to purchase the book.)
And in his January 14, 1988, "Personhood Proclamation," the President wrote, "I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America ... do hereby proclaim and declare the unalienable personhood of every American, from the moment of conception until natural death. . . ."
Knowing that the public does not support their abortion on demand agenda, Kerry and his cohorts are attempting to turn public debate away from partial-birth abortion and the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which they both voted against. They believe that properly "framed" [that is to say, distorted], "stem cell research" can work to their advantage.
In a typical sound bite, Kerry accuses President Bush of putting "ideology over science" because Mr. Bush opposes federal funding of research that requires killing human embryos. Kerry echoed that theme during his acceptance speech when he proclaimed, "What if we find a breakthrough to cure Parkinson's, diabetes, Alzheimer's and AIDS? What if we have a president who believes in science, so we can unleash the wonders of discovery like stem cell research to treat illness and save millions of lives?"
While Kerry leaves out the word "embryonic," he has made it very clear that's what he is proposing. He purposefully does not make the crucial distinction between destroying human embryos for research purposes, which has no track record of success in humans to date, and using stem cells obtained from ethical means, such as adult stem cells and cord blood, which show enormous promise.
As science columnist Michael Fumento has written, "By the 1980s, AS [adult stem] cells were literally curing a variety of cancers and other diseases; ES [embryonic stem] cells have never been tested on a human. AS cells now treat about 80 different diseases; again, ES cells have treated no one." Thus, the irony: it is Kerry/Edwards who place ideology above science!
During the Democratic primaries, Kerry declared that his first executive order as president would be to overturn the Mexico City Policy, which prevents U.S. tax dollars from going to organizations that perform or promote abortion overseas. However, Ron Reagan, Jr. says that Kerry told him the first Kerry executive order would be to permit federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. Regardless of which measure would get the distinction of being Kerry's first order, it speaks volumes that he would be putting a priority on two anti-life measures.
Another speaker at the Democratic National Convention was Gloria Feldt, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. She laid out the case for electing John Kerry and John Edwards, saying they "won't prevent you from getting the reproductive health care you need."
Referring to President Bush's position on embryonic stem cell research, Feldt turned the truth on its head, proclaiming that "John Kerry won't corrupt science with ideology."
Telling the crowd that they are fighting a war on "choice," Feldt said that Planned Parenthood's Action Fund has never before endorsed a presidential candidate, but it has endorsed John Kerry. Feldt exhorted the crowd, declaring, "If you have never made choice a voting issue, I want to tell you, now is the time! ... Stand up for John Kerry and John Edwards!"