California Governor Schwarzenegger Wants Weaker GOP Abortion Stance

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Sep 5, 2007   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

California Governor Schwarzenegger Wants Weaker GOP Abortion Stance Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 5,
2007

Sacramento, CA (LifeNews.com) — California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is coming under fire today from pro-life advocates there because of his desire to weaken the Republican Party’s pro-life stance. He is asking for a new state Republican platform that removes any mention of abortion.

Schwarzenegger says he prefers to focus other political issues where Republicans have more consensus, even though recent polls show Republicans are pro-life by more than a three-to-one margin.

The current state platform calls for the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the landmark Supreme Court case that ushered in an era of virtually unlimited abortions.

The governor is calling himself "post-partisan" and says he wants to bridge the divide between Republicans and Democrat.

But one pro-life advocate there says that will leave many Republican Party supporters behind who are pro-life and generally back the party’s candidates.

"There’s a move afoot to make sure the Republican Party stands for nothing," Mike Spence of the California Pro-Life Council, told the Associated Press.

He called the governor’s idea to change the platform "a direct assault on Republican Party principles. They think they can reduce the party to a few lines or sound bites."

Spence’s point is backed up by a new poll by the Diageo polling firm done for the Hotline political newspaper. It surveyed 604 self-identified Republican voters August 22-26.

Some 63 percent of Republicans said they want all or almost all abortions prohibited, while just 20 percent said abortions should be legal. Another 16 percent want them legal but want more limits on them.

The GOP state convention begins later this week and party activists will work to hammer out a platform.