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Press
Release Wednesday, December 4, 2002, at 11:30 a.m. ET FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION: Douglas Johnson, NRLC Legislative Director, Landrieu vs. Landrieu: This Week, Mary Landrieu Makes Directly Contradictory Promises on Federal Funding of Abortion In the Wednesday edition of the New Orleans Times-Picayune, Senator Mary Landrieu reaffirms her longstanding support for federal funding of abortion without restriction. At the same time, thousands of readers of two Catholic newspapers are seeing a commitment from Mary Landrieu to support the Hyde amendment, which prohibits federal funding of abortion, except to save the life of the mother, or in cases of rape or incest. “It is Landrieu vs. Landrieu,” said Douglas Johnson, legislative director of the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC). “Mary Landrieu must break one of these two simultaneous, contradictory promises the next time there is a vote on a Hyde amendment -- if she is re-elected.” The New Orleans Times-Picayune reports today ( http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/newsstory/senrail04.html) that on Tuesday, regarding the tax-funded abortion issue, “Landrieu said she also believes that all women, whether they be poor, members of the military or federal employees, should not be denied access to procedures available to others, including those with private insurance policies.” Tuesday's Landrieu statement is consistent with her 1996 position statement in favor of tax-funded abortion without restriction. Tuesday's Landrieu statement is also consistent with every one of Landrieu's votes on tax-funded abortion amendments during her six-year term. (Landrieu consistently has voted against various “Hyde amendments,” which are amendments to prohibit federally funded abortions except in the rare cases involving rape, incest, and endangerment to the life of the mother. Full documentation is available on request, and is posted at www.nrlc.org.) However, Landrieu's Tuesday statement absolutely contradicts the response she gave to the very first question on the just-published Louisiana Catholic Conference (LCC) candidate questionnaire, on which she promised to “support” the Hyde amendment to prohibit federal funding of abortion (except to save the life of the mother, or in cases of rape or incest). The LCC survey responses are published in this week's editions of the official newspapers of the Catholic dioceses of Baton Rouge and Houma-Thibodaux. [Copies available from NRLC, by e-mail or fax.] “This week, many thousands of readers of two Catholic newspapers are reading a solemn commitment from Mary Landrieu to vote for the Hyde Amendment -- while at the same time, she is telling other voters that she continues to support federal funding of abortions for all poor women, federal employees, and military personnel,” Johnson said. “The next time the Senate votes on a Hyde amendment, Landrieu cannot vote yes and no at the same time. We have no doubt that she will continue to vote for tax-funded abortion on demand, as she always has.” According to an article published today in a national Catholic newspaper, the executive director of the Louisiana Catholic Conference, Daniel Loar, said that Landrieu's responses to the abortion questions on the LCC questionnaire are inconsistent with her voting record, and that some Catholic dioceses declined to publish the questionnaire for that reason. In the article on the Louisiana Senate race in the Dec. 8-14 edition of the National Catholic Register, Mr. Loar is quoted saying, “Unfortunately, a lot of Catholics in southern Louisiana think Landrieu is pro-life. That is certainly not the case. Her voting record is certainly pro-abortion.” The complete article is posted on the National Catholic Register website at http://www.ncregister.com/ Today’s Times-Picayune article also recites Landrieu's recent statements that she favors legal abortion when necessary to save a woman's life, or in cases of rape or incest. In reality, however, Landrieu voted to explicitly endorse Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion for any reason for at least the first six months of pregnancy (Oct. 21, 1999, roll call 337), and reaffirmed her support for Roe on NBC Meet the Press on November 17. The Hyde amendments, which Landrieu has consistently voted against, all contain exceptions to save the life of the mother and cases of rape or incest. Moreover, the pre-Roe laws of every state, including Louisiana, allowed for abortion to save the life of the mother, as does all legislation to protect unborn children supported by NRLC. Copies of Senator Landrieu's responses to the Louisiana Catholic Conference candidate questionnaire, today's New Orleans Times-Picayune story, and documentation on Landrieu's past statements and votes in favor of unrestricted federal funding of abortion, are available on request from NRLC, by e-mail (in PDF format) or by fax. Send requests to Legfederal@aol.com, or call 202-626-8820. A memo documenting Landrieu's significant abortion-related votes during her six-year term is posted on the NRLC website at www.nrlc.org (and is available by fax or e-mail). Dates and roll call numbers are cited to allow cross-checking to the official congressional website, http://thomas.loc.gov. |