Mike Huckabee, John McCain Emphasize Abortion in South Carolina Campaign Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 17, 2008
Columbia, SC (LifeNews.com) — Mike Huckabee and John McCain are both heavily addressing the issue of abortion as they campaign in South Carolina. The southern state has a large share of pro-life voters who are looking at the candidates and wanting to support someone who will continue to press for a decline in abortions and the eventual overturning of Roe v. Wade.
At campaign stops, Huckabee has sought to contrast his views with those of Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who recently changed his position on abortion.
"If a person has not been clear on issues like where life begins or the sanctity of human life, and the need to preserve it and protect it, you may not be all that confident that that person will hold that view in 10 months or 10 years," Huckabee said.
"On the issues that really matter to social conservatives, consistency on pro-life [topics]," Huckabee said he’s the best candidate. "That’s why we feel like we’re going to win here."
McCain, as LifeNews.com reported on Wednesday, has also stressed his pro-life credentials.
In addition to those comments, McCain also said at a campaign stop in Spartanburg that he has pressed for the cause of the unborn on both a domestic and international scale.
He said he fought for the rights of the unborn "from Burma to Uzbekistan, from China to places in the Caribbean."
"I have a strong pro-life record running 24 years," McCain said. "I’m proud of my pro-life record."
McCain also wanted to counter the phone calls from an independent political group that have bashed him and Romney in the state. The calls come from a group supporting Huckabee but his campaign is not involved and he has said he doesn’t support the kind of tactics used in them.
"We know there are phone calls being made that I am pro-choice," McCain said.
Huckabee’s team has responded to the calls.
"We know nothing about that and don’t condone it," a spokeswoman told the media. "Anyone who is doing that in an effort to help us needs to stop. This does not reflect the positive spirit of the campaign."
Since winning with a conservative economic message in Michigan, Romney hasn’t switched back to talking about the kinds of social issues he brought up in Iowa.
Fred Thompson is also pressing home pro-life themes in a new ad that touts his pro-life voting record and endorsements from pro-life organizations.
He also complained about the automated calls.
"One of the things they say is that I supported partial birth abortion? They’re taking the most outrageous, most easily disproved things they could come up with," Thompson said.