Kentucky Gubernatorial Candidates All Over the Map on Abortion Issues 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
April 23, 2007
Frankfort, KY (LifeNews.com) — The primary election date for the people of Kentucky to select a Republican and Democrat to face each other in November’s gubernatorial election is just one month away. Candidates in both parties are all over the map on the issue of abortion, but there are a couple of candidates who rise to the top.
On the Republican side, embattled Gov. Ernie Fletcher is seeking re-election but his bid for a second term is so tenuous that he faces several Democrats and a leading Republican in the primary.
Fletcher had a 100 percent pro-life voting record while in Congress and, as governor, continued that by signing a bill in 2004 that would protect pregnant women like Laci Peterson and their unborn children from violence.
"I have worked to create a culture of life in Frankfort, by working to protect all children, both born and unborn," Fletcher, who is also a physician, told AP about his record.
He has the endorsement of Kentucky Right to Life, but so does former Rep. Anne Northup, who lost her bid for re-election last year.
Like Fletcher, Northup has a 100 percent pro-life voting record in Congress, including votes against embryonic stem cell research and human cloning. As the governor did, Northup gave the pro-life group a 100% pro-life candidate survey.
"The value of all lives are precious and that includes the lives of the unborn," Northup told AP "I am pro-life, and I support any measure that preserves the sanctity of life."
Paducah businessman Billy Harper is also seeking the GOP nod and gave KRLA a "mostly pro-life" response to its questionnaire but he does not have the group’s backing. He says he opposes abortion except in cases of rape and incest or saving the mother’s life.
On the Democratic, side, none of the candidates have Kentucky Right to Life’s endorsement but some of them have mostly pro-life voting records.
House Speaker Jody Richards has received high marks from Kentucky Right to Life and has a 100 percent pro-life voting record. That’s the same for his running mate John Brown.
However, Louisville businessman Bruce Lunsford and former Lt. Govs. Steve Beshear take pro-abortion positions.
Lunsford told AP that abortion is "a woman’s right to choose" and "a personal, private matter between a woman, her family, her doctor and her beliefs." KRLA calls Beshear "pro-abortion."
Meanwhile, demolition contractor Otis Hensley Jr. and Lexington attorney Gatewood Galbraith respectively did not answer the KRLA PAC survey and gave mostly pro-life responses.
Related web sites:
Kentucky Right to Life – https://www.krla.org
