Howard Dean Admits Being Pro-Abortion Hurts in the South
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 16, 2003
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Democratic Presidential candidate Howard Dean made a surprising and candid admission at campaign events Monday saying that being pro-abortion doesn’t help candidates in Southern states.
The former Vermont Governor spoke for an hour at a rally at Georgia State University. Dean said he expects many residents of southern states to disagree with him about his position in favor of abortion.
"But at least they’re going to be told straight to their face that I believe in equal rights. I believe in jobs, I believe in health care and I believe in good education," Dean said.
At another rally at Alabama A&M University, Dean again admitted he didn’t want his campaign in the South to be focused on abortion.
"Let’s not talk about guns and race and abortion and the Confederate flag," Dean said.
Kristen Day, director of Democrats for Life, told LifeNews.com that Dean and other Democrats talk about equal rights but don’t extend those rights to children before birth.
"Unfortunately, at this time he and the other presidential candidates do not believe that equal rights should be extended to unborn children," Day said.
"In most cases abortion is the number one or two most important issue when choosing a candidate and those voters believe that equal rights should be extend to those most vulnerable in our society," Day explained. "I have heard from hundreds of frustrated pro-life Democrats who feel we do not have a choice in the presidential race. I don’t think Dean helped his cause by saying we should not discuss the issue of abortion. It should be a priority."
Dean, who is viewed by some as the most pro-abortion presidential candidate because of the stint he performed at Planned Parenthood during medical school, also said his health care insurance plan would include tax-funded coverage of abortion.
As governor of Vermont, he prompted a similar plan to cover abortions with state funds. That concerns Wendy Wright of Concerned Women for America.
"Jobs, education, health care, and defense become bigger problems when one-third of our population that would create jobs, pay the bills and defend our country is missing, killed before they were born," Wright said.
