President Bush Says John Kerry Out of Step With Democrats on Abortion

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Oct 27, 2004   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

President Bush Says John Kerry Out of Step With Democrats on Abortion Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 27, 2004

Lancaster, PA (LifeNews.com) — At a rally in Pennsylvania, a state teeming with pro-life Democrats, President Bush said presidential candidate John Kerry is out of touch with many in his party because of his extreme views in support of abortion.

"The Democrat Party has also a great tradition of defending the defenseless," the president said at the rally. "If you’re a Democrat who believes that our society must always have room for the voiceless and the vulnerable, I would be honored to have your vote."

Bush pointed to former Pennsylvania governor Robert Casey, prevented from addressing the Democratic convention in 1996 because of his pro-life views.

Drawing strong applause, Bush said Casey "once said that when we look to the unborn child, the real issue is not when life begins, but when love begins."

Bush also spoke about the issue of partial-birth abortion. The president signed a ban on the gruesome procedure — legislation that Kerry voted against on six separate occasions.

"Many Democrats look at my opponent and see an attitude that is much more extreme," Bush said at the rally. "He says that life begins at conception, but denies that our caring society should prevent even partial birth abortion."

Kerry’s position in favor of abortion was enough to prompt a national organization for pro-life Democrats not to endorse the Democratic nominee.

"Kerry is not pro-life," Kristen Day, director of Democrats for Life of America, said.

The group notes that Kerry has pledged on his first day in office to fund groups that perform and promote abortions in other countries by overturning a policy President Bush instituted revoking such funding.

The president also discussed the issue of partial-birth abortion at the Pennsylvania campaign stop, as he does at many campaign appearances.

"I remember the moral clarity of the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Democrat of New York, who said that partial birth abortion is "as close to infanticide as anything I have ever come upon,’" Bush said.

"Preventing partial birth abortion is an ethical conviction shared by many people of every faith, and by people who have no religion at all," the president said.

"I understand good people disagree on the life issue. So I’ve worked with Republicans and Democrats to find common ground on difficult questions and to move this good-hearted nation toward a culture of life," Bush concluded.

A recent poll conducted by Zogby International found that forty-three percent of Democrats identify themselves as pro-life.

Many pro-life Democrats will apparently support the president’s re-election bid. A Survey USA poll shows President Bush faring 13 percent better with pro-life voters than Kerry does with pro-abortion voters.