Democrats and Abortion

 

The Unasked Question during the Democratic Debate: “Is there an abortion you would not allow?”

By Karen Cross, National Right to Life Political Director
Editor’s note. This appears in the October digital edition of National Right to Life News at www.nrlc.org/uploads/NRLNews/NRLNewsOct2015.pdf. The story has been changed to reflect that since it first ran, former Virginia Senator Jim Webb and former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee have dropped out.
In a nutshell, while the recent Democratic debate was rather boring, I watched on the chance that the biased, pro-abortion media who panders to candidates on the left would ask a challenging question, exposing the extreme position of each of the Democratic presidential candidates on abortion.
It didn’t happen. The word “abortion” never left the lips of CNN moderator Anderson Cooper nor the five Democratic presidential candidates.

In light of the recent undercover videos exposing Planned Parenthood’s complete and utter disregard for the lives of preborn babies in which the sale of their body parts was discussed over dinner, Republican presidential candidates were grilled about their abortion positions. But even when they weren’t asked specifically, they brought up their support for life.
Because the abortion question was not asked during the Democratic debate, we must look at past records and statements .
Following is an overview of the abortion positions of the current Democratic presidential candidates who participated in the October 13 debate (in alphabetical order).
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

As a U.S. senator, Hillary Clinton maintained a 0% pro-life record, voting against the pro-life position on every vote.
In 2003, Clinton voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, and voted to endorse Roe v. Wade, which allows abortion for any reason.
When the U.S. House passed the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act on May 13, 2015, Clinton issued a statement opposing the bill, referring to it as part of a “dangerous” trend.
In 2009, Clinton was awarded Planned Parenthood’s Margaret Sanger Award.
Clinton, following the revelation of the undercover videos, reiterated her support for Planned Parenthood. She remarked:

“I think it is regrettable that Republicans are once again trying to undermine, even end those services that so many women have needed and taken advantage of. I think that it’s another effort by the Republicans to try to limit the health care options of women and we should not let them succeed once again.”

Here are 10 times so far in the 2016 campaign that Hillary Clinton has showed her extremism on abortion.
Former Governor Martin O’Malley
O’Malley supports the current policy of abortion on demand, which allows abortion for any reason.
In April 2014, O’Malley received Planned Parenthood of Maryland’s Betty Tyler Award “for advancing reproductive rights in Maryland.”
In July, while admitting he had not seen the videos, O’Malley dismissed them, saying:

“… I don’t generally make a habit of responding to right-wing videos.”

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders

Sanders (I-Vt.) has maintained a solid pro-abortion voting record, voting against the pro-life position more than 100 times in his federal legislative career (U.S. House of Representatives 1991-2007, U.S. Senate 2007 to date).

Sanders voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban every opportunity he had. More recently, Sanders voted against advancing H.R. 36, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act.
Sanders voted against S. 1881, the bill to ban federal funding of Planned Parenthood. His vote would allow federal funding of the abortion giant to continue.
Sanders admitted he had not seen the video, but had read accounts of it in the news. Referring to Planned Parenthood’s president, he said:

“Obviously, I think Cecile Richards apologized for the tone of that video. I think her apology was exactly right. I think that the staffer, the tone was terribly wrong.”

Why wasn’t the abortion question asked at the October 13 debate?

Perhaps the pro-abortion media recognizes the disadvantage for pro-abort
ion candidates? (For an overview of the National Right to Life Advantage for Pro-life Candidates go here.) Perhaps they know that most Americans do not support abortion for any reason.
All of the Democratic candidates support a policy which allows abortion for any reason.
For National Right to Life’s downloadable flyer “Where Do the Candidates Stand on Life?” click here.

Are your friends unsure where the presidential candidates stand on life? If so, be sure to share it with them as well.
Look for updates in future National Right to Life News and National Right to Life News Today.

Source: NRLC News