Arizona Governor’s Race Focuses on Abortion With Napolitano Vetoes 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 19, 2006
Phoenix, AZ (LifeNews.com) — The intensity of the gubernatorial race in Arizona is stepping up a notch on abortion thanks to vetoes by Gov. Janet Napolitano of a handful of bills that would have helped limit abortions there. Immigration and other legislative issues have dominated the campaign so far, but abortion is steadily become a line of demarcation between the governor and Republican frontrunner Len Munsil.
On Monday, Napolitano refused to sign measures to make sure taxpayer funds don’t pay for abortions for state workers and another providing better enforcement of parental consent on abortions.
The governor is also expected to veto a measure the legislature is about to put the finishing touches on that would further protect minor teenage girls from abortions. The House is considering Senate amendments to the bill and will probably send it to her.
Napolitano, a Democrat, calls the bills a violation of the right to privacy and abortion but Munsil, the former president of the pro-life Center for Arizona Policy, says the vetoes show she is out of touch with Arizona residents.
Munsil told the Arizona Republic he would have signed each of the bills and called Napolitano "far out of the mainstream on this issue of regulation of abortion."
"A vast majority of pro-choice Arizonans agree that children should not be operated on without their parents’ knowledge, and that tax dollars should not pay for abortion," Munsil said. "Eighty to 90 percent of Arizonans agree with both of these propositions."
"The truth is, Janet Napolitano is way out of the mainstream on this, no matter how hard she, her pollsters, and the media try to pretend otherwise," he explained.
Also on Monday, the governor vetoed a measure that would have prohibited the sale of human eggs, which researcher use in human cloning and embryonic stem cell research.
Last week, Napolitano vetoed a bill that would allow women to know that an unborn baby will feel intense pain during an abortion procedure. The veto came despite researching showing that unborn children have the capacity to feel pain at least after 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Napolitano has vetoed pro-life bills before.
The governor vetoed a bill in 2004 that would have allowed women to receive information about abortion’s risks and alternatives that abortion businesses sometimes withhold from women considering abortions.
Napolitano has also vetoed a measure that would have protected pro-life pharmacists from being forced to dispense drugs that could cause abortions.
Don Goldwater, the nephew of the late Barry Goldwater, a longtime U.S. Senator from Arizona and the 1964 Republican candidate for president, is also in the race. Scottsdale businessman Mike Harris, former Santa Cruz County attorney and state judge Jan Smith Florez are also running.
Munsil has the backing of Congressmen Trent Franks, Jeff Flake, Rick Renzi and John Shadegg.
General election polls show substantial leads for Napolitano over Munsil and the other Republican candidates.
Related web sites:
Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano – https://www.governor.state.az.us
Arizona Right to Life – https://www.azrtl.org
Len Munsil Campaign – https://www.lenmunsil.com
