Democrat Groups in Florida, Maryland Refuse to Back John Kerry Over Abortion 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
November 1, 2004
Tallahassee, FL (LifeNews.com) — A Miami-area Democratic group and two groups of pro-life Democrats in Florida and Maryland say they cannot endorse Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry because of his stance in favor of abortion and his voting record against a partial-birth abortion ban and for taxpayer funding of abortion.
In a move that could have an affect on the outcome of the election in a crucial battleground state, Florida Democrats for Life of America, a state affiliate of the national pro-life Democrats group, says it will not back Kerry.
Valerie Mierzwa, president of the group, told LifeNews.com that "John Kerry does not deserve our votes."
Pointing out that Kerry is the first presidential candidate to receive an endorsement from Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business, Mierzwa said Kerry "stated he would only support nominees who pledge to uphold Roe v. Wade."
"Kerry has voted at least six times against banning partial birth abortion," Mierzwa pointed out.
In addition to close races for the presidency and U.S. Senate, Florida voters will vote on a ballot issue Tuesday concerning a requirements that parents be notified when their teenage daughter is considering an abortion.
While most Florida voters support that proposal, Mierzwa says, "John Kerry has voted at least three times against requiring parental notification."
Mierzwa also said her group is concerned that, if elected, Kerry will promote human cloning as a method of creating and destroying unborn children for their stem cells for research.
"Because of his past voting record and public pronouncements regarding, but not limited to, all the above issues, John Kerry has disqualified himself from receiving our endorsement," Mierzwa said.
Another Florida Democrat group says it won’t back Kerry for similar reasons.
The Democratic League of Miami-Dade County says it will not endorse Kerry for president because Kerry stands at a polar extreme of American public opinion" on certain issues such as human cloning and partial-birth abortions.
"Sen. Kerry’s voting record and public statements reveal a candidate who has disqualified himself from receiving the endorsement of pro-faith, pro-freedom, pro-life, pro-family Democrats," Eladio Jose Armesto, the group’s chairman said in a statement.
"If our party is to once again be a guiding light in America, it must do much, much better than extremists such as John Kerry and John Edwards," Armesto explained.
Meanwhile, Democrats for Life of Maryland also says it can’t support Kerry’s candidacy.
"We are disappointed that, in the final presidential debate, Kerry’s views remained as extreme as possible," says Eric Pavlat, the group’s president.
Pavlat said his organization is concerned that Kerry has a litmus test for judges, where he will only appoint those who think abortions should remain legal.
His group is also concerned about Kerry’s opposition to a bill that would protect pregnant women from violence, his support for human cloning and his position in favor of taxpayer funded abortions — a voting record DLM calls "especially offensive."
"We honestly cannot think of a more extreme position a candidate could take on start-of-life issues than that staked out by John Kerry," Pavlat said.
Related web sites:
Florida Democrats for Life – https://www.floridadfla.org
Democrats for Life of America – https://www.democratsforlife.org
