Sam Brownback More Comfortable With Rudy Giuliani on Abortion Now 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
October 25, 2007
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Former Republican presidential candidate Sam Brownback emerged from a meeting with pro-abortion GOP hopeful Rudy Giuliani and said Friday he is more comfortable with the former mayor. The former New York leader invited Brownback, a key pro-life lawmaker in Congress, to talk with him about abortion.
Brownback made it clear he did not endorse Giuliani — he hasn’t endorsed any presidential candidate yet — but he said he is "much more comfortable" with Rudy Giuliani’s position on abortion.
The two met in Brownback’s Senate office and spoke briefly with reporters afterwards.
"I’m much more comfortable," Brownback said, according to an AP report.
"Justices are key. He’s stated publicly many times about his support for strict constructionists like, I believe he said [Supreme Court Chief Justice John] Roberts. John Roberts is a personal friend," Brownback explained.
Asked if he would endorse a pro-abortion candidate like Giuliani, Brownback said, "I don’t know that he would — I’ll let the mayor describe himself — whether he’d describe himself as a pro-choice mayor, or a pro-choice candidate."
About any possible endorsement, Brownback said: “I haven’t decided who or if and I haven’t decided when."
Giuliani also spoke to the press, according to AP, and refused to say whether he is a pro-abortion candidate: "You know what I am."
"I’ve described it in the past," Giuliani said. "I’ve opposed abortion. I’d like to see a society in which there is no abortion. I think you have to get there by changing people’s minds and hearts. I’m not in favor of changing the law and the right that presently exists.
"But I do think I’m in favor of everything else that would limit the number of abortions, that would increase the number of adoptions and that would move us in the direction of many fewer abortions," Giuliani added. "And if we could get to no abortions based on people’s decision-making, I’d be in favor of that."
Reaction to Brownback’s meeting has been negative and many pro-life advocates are concerned that his comments, despite not endorsing Giuliani, will give the ex-mayor an inroad into votes from the pro-life movement.
Kim Lehman, the director of Iowa Right to Life and a Brownback supporter, said she would be surprised if Brownback endorsed him.
“I find it simply hard to believe because Giuliani has expressed his position to even pay for abortion,” she said.
Before the meeting, Brownback talked with The Hill newspaper about why he would meet with Giuliani.
“I’m going to meet with him and I’m going to talk to him and hear what he is specifically saying now because he’s changed on a number of the abortion issues,” Brownback said.
“He’s changed on partial-birth [abortion] and he … has said he would appoint strict constructionists” to the Supreme Court.
