Rudy Giuliani Talks Adoption Over Abortion, Pro-Life Group Doubts Pledge

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Aug 7, 2007   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Rudy Giuliani Talks Adoption Over Abortion, Pro-Life Group Doubts Pledge Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
August 7,
2007

Des Moines, IA (LifeNews.com) — Rudy Giuliani is having a hard time capturing the support of a large segment of Republican voters in Iowa because he strongly supports legalized abortion. To offset his strident view, Giuliani pledges to promote adoption and moderate his stance so he can gain enough support to do well in the first presidential battleground.

Giuliani said on Monday in an Iowa campaign swing that he wanted to promote common ground on the issue of abortion and that he can do so with pro-life advocates by touting adoption.

"The common ground is almost all people agree that we should reduce the number of abortions as much as we can consistent with respecting people’s rights and keeping government out of that kind of decision making," he explained.

"One of the ways we can do that is by increasing adoptions and making that information available so that someone has the full information and then can make a decision," Giuliani said.

“I will increase adoptions, decrease abortions and protect the quality of life of our children,” Giuliani explained.

Giuliani also said he would make permanent a $10,000 tax credit for adoption expenses.

Tom McClusky, vice president of the Family Research Council’s legislative branch, told Congressional Quarterly the adoption plan "looks good on paper" but he’s skeptical of Giuliani’s commitment to reducing abortions.

“Rudy Giuliani was great for New York as a mayor [but] I question as a president if he would uphold the same standards that have become expected from Republican presidents since Ronald Reagan," he said.

“In the past, when he said he was trying to promote adoption, he gave money to Planned Parenthood,” McClusky said.

Giuliani has frequently trumpeted his position in favor of promoting adoptions, though statistics show he didn’t necessary do much to promote them as mayor.

The mayor has previously claimed that adoptions went up 67 percent during his mayoral tenure, but the nonpartisan political watchdog Web site FactCheck said that number is inflated and put the rise at only 17 percent during his terms in office.

Although there were more adoptions during Giuliani’s time in office than that of his predecessor David Dinkins, adoptions under Giuliani decreased five out of his final six years in office.

FRC’s McClusky told CQ in response to the adoption numbers, “I think he’s taking credit for something he had very little to do with. Abortion did go down in the 90s, and it’s not really through any of his efforts.”