Rudy Giuliani Defends Pro-Abortion Stance, Pro-Life Groups Criticize

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Apr 6, 2007   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Rudy Giuliani Defends Pro-Abortion Stance, Pro-Life Groups Criticize Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 6
, 2007

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Rudy Giuliani continued to defend his pro-abortion views at a campaign stop in South Carolina speaking after a whirlwind of controversy surrounding a Wednesday interview in which he said he still supported taxpayer funded abortions. On Thursday, the former New York mayor seemed to flip-flop.

In a CNN interview Wednesday, he said he would force taxpayers to fund abortions but Thursday said he backed the federal Hyde amendment prohibiting virtually all federal funding of abortions. He added that he supported states’ own decisions on the issue.

He defended his positions late Thursday saying it was up to primary voters to decide if his pro-abortion stance was enough to make them consider someone else.

"I tell people what I think. I tell them (to) evaluate me as I am and do not expect them to agree with me on everything. I don’t agree with me on everything," Giuliani said.

"If that’s the most important thing, then I’m comfortable with the fact you won’t vote for me," he added.

Responding to the controversial comments, one leading pro-life group says polls show his stance will hurt him with voters.

An April 2004 Zogby International showed that 74% of Americans disagree with federal funding of abortion.

Meanwhile, in a CBS News Gallup Poll taken last month, 18% of Republican participants said abortion was the most important single issue to them when voting for a candidate. Among Republicans who cite abortion as a primary motivator in voting, the vast majority are pro-life.

“This poll reveals what we already knew,” said Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser, in comments to LifeNews.com. “The pro-life trend is not going away. Its intensity as a motivator among voters is permanent."

“In light of this fact, Republican presidential candidates who choose to ignore this reality do so at their own peril. Mr. Giuliani will ultimately damage his campaign by ignoring this influential block of voters and maintaining such a stance on the abortion issue," Dannenfelser added.

The pro-life advocate also said the former mayor isn’t showing "compassion" for struggling mothers with his insistence that abortion be kept legal.

"Compassion for struggling mothers is misplaced when abortion is proposed as the solution for a woman who is pregnant and struggling against life’s circumstance," she said.

"Early suffragist Elizabeth Cady Stanton understood that instead of conferring relief and compassion, abortion makes women more vulnerable," Dannenfelser explained.

Related web sites:
Susan B. Anthony List – https://www.sba-list.org