Presidential candidates on abortion

Views from a few presidential candidates.

John Edwards, at a recent event, "I will say to you that I respect your view. Nobody made me god about this, but because nobody made me god about it I don't believe it's right for government to tell women what to do."

"I support a woman's right to choose and believe this that right is constitutionally protected. I also support funding for family planning". Vote-Smart Presidential National Political Awareness TestJan 8, 2004

Barack Hussein Obama, "Abortions should be legally available in accordance with Roe v. Wade". 1998 IL State Legislative National Political Awareness Test Jul 2, 1998

Hillary Clinton, "I am and always have been pro-choice, and that is not a right any of should take for granted. There are a number of forces at work in our society that would try to turn back the clock and undermine a woman’s right to chose, and [we] must remain vigilant." New York Times, pg.A11 Jan 22, 2000

Rudy Giuliani, "Abortion is a very, very difficult issue of conscience for many, many people. In my case, I hate abortion. I would encourage someone to not take that option. When I was mayor of New York City, I encouraged adoptions. Adoptions went up 65%. Abortions went down 16%. I support the ban on partial-birth abortion. I support the Hyde amendment. But ultimately, I think when you come down to that choice, you have to respect a woman's right to make that choice differently than my conscience." 2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC May 3, 2007

Mitt Romney, "I've always been personally pro-life, but for me, it was a great question about whether or not government should intrude in that decision. And when I ran for office, I said I'd protect the law as it was, which is effectively a pro-choice position." 2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC May 3, 2007

Fred Thompson, "I think Roe v. Wade was bad law and bad medical science And the way to address that is through good judges. I don't think the court ought to wake up one day and make new social policy for the country. It's contrary to what it's been the past 200 years... That's what happened in this case [Roe v. Wade]. I think it was wrong." The Fred Factor, by Steve Gill, p.143-144 Jun 3, 2007

Sam Brownback, "I think it's a life issue clearly, and I am pro-life and I'm whole life. And one of the things I'm the proudest about our party is that we've stood for life. We've been a party that has stood for a culture of life, and it was in our platform in 1980 and it continues today. And with that respect, that's why I don't think we can nominate somebody that's not pro-life in this party because it is at our core." 2007 GOP debate at Saint Anselm College Jun 3, 2007

What is the choice in "pro-choice"? Choosing to terminate a baby's life? Thompson and Brownback are right on this issue (and perhaps Romney is authentic!).