The abortion activists at Planned Parenthood are upset that three pro-life Republican candidates have signed a new pledge stating that they believe unborn children should have their right to life protected.
As LifeNews reported, three Republican presidential candidates have signed a new pro-life presidential pledge that has them affirming that unborn children join people after birth in deserving protection of their right to life. The pledge says, “I proclaim that every human being is created in the image and likeness of God, and is endowed by our Creator with the unalienable right to life.”
The new pledge already has the support of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Minnesota Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann, and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. Dawn Laguens, Executive Vice President for Planned Parenthood Action Fund claimed their signing the pro-life pledge is “the latest sign of how out of touch the GOP presidential candidates are on women’s health.”
Although the pledge has to do with providing legal protection for unborn children, Laguens misconstrued the language to claim the candidates favor “outlawing in vitro fertilization, common forms of birth control, and cancer treatments for pregnant women; as well as abortion, even in the cases of rape or incest.”
“All three GOP presidential candidates have signed Personhood USA’s pledge in support of so-called ‘personhood.’ As media have reported, these so-called ‘personhood’ initiatives are an extreme government intrusion into the private lives of women and families and could outlaw in vitro fertilization, common forms of birth control, and cancer treatment for pregnant women,” Laguens continued.
“While Mitt Romney has not signed the Personhood USA pledge, Romney is on record as supporting ‘personhood.’ During an appearance on FOX News’ Huckabee in October, Romney said he ‘absolutely’ supported ‘personhood,'” the abortion activist added. “This is just more evidence that the GOP presidential candidates, including Mitt Romney, can’t be trusted when it comes to women’s health.”
Laguens took occasion to bash the amendments, which have not fared well at the polls.
“As an indicator of how extreme ‘personhood’ is, even voters in Mississippi, the most conservative state in the nation rejected ‘personhood,’ by 16 points when it was placed on the ballot this year,” she said. “In the three times ‘personhood’ has been on the ballot, it has been widely rejected. Colorado defeated the so-called ‘personhood’ amendment by double digit margins in 2008 and 2010.” [related]
This is the second pro-life pledge following one sponsored by the Susan B. Anthony List this summer that had signed pledge to nominate judges pro-life advocates would appreciate, select pro-life nominees for key administration posts, support de-funding the Planned Parenthood abortion business, and to support a Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to protect unborn children who are capable of feeling pain from abortion.
All of the Republican presidential candidates signed the SBA List pledge except Mitt Romney, who released his own pro-life pledge in response, Jon Huntsman, who is pro-life, and Herman Cain, who has since withdrawn from the race.
Former pro-life Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee talked about the new pledge.
“Believing that every human life, unborn and born, has intrinsic worth and equal value is the underpinning of our nation’s moral core. As one who lived through the Jim Crow laws of the South and saw how people of color were treated as ‘less’ I am encouraged that the personhood movement is reminding us that all people are deserving of the protections afforded us as human beings,” he said. “We should never ask people to determine if one person is ‘more’ valuable than another because of wealth, appearance, IQ, ancestry, ethnic origin, or physical capacity.”
The sponsors say signers of the pledge also affirm their support for “a human life amendment to the Constitution” and “endorse legislation to make it clear that 14th Amendment protections apply to unborn children.” Both are positions in the current Republican Party platform.
