Add Congressman Thaddeus McCotter of Michigan to the list of Republican presidential candidates who have signed the pro-life pledge sponsored by the Susan B. Anthony List. He’s committed to opposing abortion and abortion funding.
As LifeNews.com reported, the Susan B. Anthony List unveiled the pledge recently and indicated Michele Bachmann, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul signed it. The pledge has the candidates promising to support only judicial nominees who won’t interpret the Constitution in a way that supports Roe v. Wade, select pro-life Cabinet members on positions affecting abortion policy, supporting legislation to stop taxpayer funding of abortions and Planned Parenthood, and to support a fetal pain bill that would ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, the SBA List president, informed LifeNews today that McCotter signed the pledge as well. He is a little known congressman, but his pro-life commitment could attract him supporters from those who are not happy with the current makeup of the Republican field.
Noting his long history as an advocate for the pro-life movement, Dannenfelser said McCotter’s “legislative record includes vocal support for the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act, the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, and bills to defund Planned Parenthood and prevent taxpayer funding of abortions. We are honored to have his pledge of continued support.”
McCotter explained the reason for signing the pledge stating, “The culture of death, as enshrined by Roe v. Wade, is a present danger to the weakest in our society. Unless Roe is overturned, the culture of death will continue to fester and endanger Americans. To protect future generations of Americans, we must work in our families and our communities to uphold the sanctity of human life.”
Dannenfelser pointed out that a handful of Republican candidates have still not signed the pledge.
“Mitt Romney, Hermann Cain, Gary Johnson and Jon Huntsman have thus far refused to sign the pledge despite a growing number of voters who promise, by signing the Citizen’s Pledge, to only support a Presidential candidate who has signed the Presidential Pledge,” she said.
Bachmann criticized Romney for not signing a pro-life presidential pledge in comments following his decision.
“This last weekend there was a National Right to Life Committee Convention and I had signed, happily, the Susan B. Anthony List pledge regarding being pro-life as president of the United States,” she told Brody. “I had issued a statement saying that I believed that all Republican candidates should sign that statement. Our party platform is pro-life, and I believe that our president also needs to be pro-life.”
Asked about her response to Romney, Bachmann said, “Well, I think particularly now, Governor Romney has stated that he is pro-life, I take him at his word but, he’s had some issues with that in his past, where he has taken various positions. This was a wonderful opportunity to sign the pledge and demonstrate that he’s pro-life. He chose not to. I think that’s troubling and I think that he should have signed the pledge.”
“I think that the voters will have to take a look at this,” Bachmann added in the interview. “I know for me, it’s very troubling. And I called on the Governor to sign the pledge because after all you can get a lot of things wrong; one thing that you cannot get wrong is the issue of life. That is a foundational issue in our nation and I think it’s important that our candidate for the presidency stand for life.”
Romney did not sign the pledge and his officials said it was because he worried the de-funding legislation would also revoke funding for hospitals, though the legislation currently pending in Congress does not do so.
Romney also released a pro-life statement of position at National Review, but Bachmann said originally that it is “distressing” that Romney did not sign the pledge.
Cain has released his own statement on why not, saying he can’t advance the pro-life bills de-funding Planned Parenthood as a member of Congress, though he could certainly employ the bully pulpit of the presidency to do so.
