A: I think that most Americans recognize that this is a profoundly difficult issue for the women and families who make these decisions. They don’t make them casually. And I trust women to make these decisions in conjunction with their doctors and their families and their clergy. And I think that’s where most Americans are. Now, when you describe a specific procedure that accounts for less than 1% of the abortions that take place, then naturally, people get concerned, and I think legitimately so. But the broader issue here is: Do women have the right to make these profoundly difficult decisions? And I trust them to do it. There is a broader issue: Can we move past some of the debates around which we disagree and can we start talking about the things we do agree on? Reducing teen pregnancy; making it less likely for women to find themselves in these circumstances.
In a tele-town hall, a caller asked Templeton about her position on the Personhood bill. "I would support any law in South Carolina that would reduce the number of abortions," Templeton responded. A Templeton campaign spokesman confirmed the candidate has shifted her stance on the issue. "While campaigning, Catherine Templeton was asked to pray about her support for life and consider making no exceptions," the spokesman said. "It may not be the politically correct answer, but so be it."
A: No. I’m disappointed terribly by the decision that he reached the other day [allowing states to outlaw partial-birth abortion], because he did something he said he wouldn’t do. He said during his confirmation hearings that he would uphold precedent. That was a very important answer he gave to me. He walked away from the woman’s health. For 34 years, the woman’s health has been a major consideration on this issue since Roe versus Wade was first decided. And to deviate from that, to me, was a major, major setback here. I happen to believe a woman has a right to choose. I’ve voted that way and done that, supported that for the 26 years I’ve been in the US Senate. Supporting expanding adoption, children’s health issues--these are things I’ve worked on for the last 26 years, having started the children’s caucus in the US Senate, worked on children’s health issues.
A: Any of my appointments to the high court would necessarily reflect my thinking. I don’t know how it could be otherwise. I intend to be a president who’s a healer, who understands that this country has been put in a debate that has torn it apart. But the truth of the matter is, it’s possible to take a course of action where you can get all the people of America in support of a culture of life which includes prenatal care, postnatal care, child care, universal health care, a living wage, all those things that give support to life. And we also need to listen carefully to those who are concerned about abortion. At the same time, a healer as president would help reconcile this nation, and cause a woman’s right to privacy to be protected unquestioningly, protect Roe v. Wade, but also go out and listen to people and engage people and open up hearts.
TRUMP: You are the biggest liar. Today, we had robo-calls saying. "Donald Trump is not going to run in South Carolina," -- where I'm leading by a lot." I'm not going to vote for Ted Cruz. This guy will say anything, nasty guy. Now I know why he doesn't have one endorsement from any of his colleagues.
CRUZ: You said, "Planned Parenthood does wonderful things and we should not defund it."
TRUMP: It does do wonderful things but not as it relates to abortion. There are wonderful things having to do with women's health, but not when it comes to abortion.
JOHNSON: I support a woman's right to choose up until viability of the fetus, as governor of New Mexico, I would have signed a bill banning late term abortion, I've always favored parental notification, I've always favored counseling and I've always favored the notion that public funds should not be used for abortion. So running for Governor of New Mexico in a state that was 2:1 Democrat, I really didn't get that vote in the primary, but I'd like to think that I got all of those votes in the general election and that's a reality here also, for those individuals that hold that as their number one issue, I'm not going to get that vote, I would hope to get that vote if I were to move on to the general election.
Earlier in the campaign, Catherine Templeton had distinguished herself from the rest of the GOP field by saying she believes there should be an exception for incest [but she has now switched to supporting the bill]. The board of Personhood South Carolina, an organization focused on promoting the abortion ban, said Templeton's view amounted to support for murdering unborn children based on the circumstances of their conception.
All four other Republicans in the governor's race have said they unequivocally oppose all abortions. One candidate, Lt. Gov. Kevin Bryant, sponsored the Personhood Act when he was a state senator, and McMaster has vowed to sign it into law if it lands on his desk.
"Health care services related to pregnancy care, fertility and cancer screenings may be offered in many ways, without state subsidization of abortion providers," he wrote.
The letter was followed by a Lt. Gov. Kevin Bryant press conference in which Bryant challenged the Legislature to pass a budget that doesn't "contain a penny" for abortion providers. If next year's budget includes the funding, Bryant said he would not sign off on the state's spending plan. [Bryant does not have veto authority.]
When asked if his press conference was done to rev up the base before next year's primary elections, Bryant pointed to his previous work in the Senate against abortion. "I've been a pro-life activist my entire life and will continue to be," he said. "This is about defunding Planned Parenthood."
Harrison: I believe she does. Men have rights to control their bodies and women should have equal rights to control their bodies as well. I believe that it's between a woman, her doctor, and her God. Politicians shouldn't be anywhere in it. We need to make sure that abortions should be rare. We should look at how we expand adoptions, how we have contraception and educate our kids about all of that.
During a lunch with Spartanburg County Democrats, Stamper attacked Sen. Lindsey Graham's loyalty to conservative principles and said spending trillions of dollars on foreign engagements isn't fiscal conservatism, limiting abortion and marriage isn't limited government conservatism, and supporting the National Security Administration's data collection isn't constitutional conservatism.
"I will settle for their grudging and reluctant support," Stamper said of Republicans and independents he hopes to sway.
A: I strongly support Roe v. Wade. I wouldn't have a specific question but I would make sure that the people I sent to be nominated for the Supreme Court shared my values; and understood that there is a right to privacy in the United States Constitution. That's why I led the fight to defeat Bork, Roberts Alito, and Thomas.
This bill is blatantly unconstitutional. These inevitable legal challenges will cost South Carolina millions in taxpayer money at a time when state and local governments are facing unprecedented budget shortfalls. In the middle of a deadly pandemic, should South Carolina spend millions on vaccinating our people and keeping our businesses afloat, or should we spend that money defending a blatantly unconstitutional law in court that we already know will fail?
A: This decision by the Supreme Court is a perfect example of what's at stake in this election. The kind of people that will be appointed to the US Supreme Court by the next president will control whether a woman's freedom, freedom to choose, make her own health care decisions will be made by her or will be made by the government or by some men sitting on the US Supreme Court. Now, on the issue of abortion, I believe in a woman's right to choose, but I think this is an extraordinarily difficult issue for America. I think it is very important for the president of the United States to recognize--while I believe the government should not make these health-care decisions for women--I believe they should have the freedom to make them themselves--this is a very difficult issue for many people. And I think we have to show respect for people who have different views about this.
Earlier in the campaign, Catherine Templeton had distinguished herself from the rest of the GOP field by saying she believes there should be an exception for incest [but she has now switched to supporting the bill]. The board of Personhood South Carolina, an organization focused on promoting the abortion ban, said Templeton's view amounted to support for murdering unborn children based on the circumstances of their conception.
All four other Republicans in the governor's race have said they unequivocally oppose all abortions. One candidate, Lt. Gov. Kevin Bryant, sponsored the Personhood Act when he was a state senator, and McMaster has vowed to sign it into law if it lands on his desk.
"Health care services related to pregnancy care, fertility and cancer screenings may be offered in many ways, without state subsidization of abortion providers," he wrote.
The letter came the day before a Bryant press conference in which Bryant challenged the Legislature to pass a budget that doesn't "contain a penny" for abortion providers. If next year's budget includes the funding, Bryant said he would not sign off on the state's spending plan. However, Bryant does not have veto authority.
When asked if his press conference was done to rev up the base before next year's primary elections, Bryant pointed to his previous work in the Senate against abortion. "I've been a pro-life activist my entire life and will continue to be," he said. "This is about defunding Planned Parenthood."
"Restrictive laws will not impact the number of abortions in America but will impact the number of safe abortions," she continued. "Women are not objects to be controlled. This is exactly the time that women must rally together. We must codify a woman's right to choose. They want to force their policy to 'birth them now and provide no support for them later.' Today's decision was the last straw. I am mad as hell and I am ready to do something about it."
Bright: Strongly Agree
Question topic: Should abortion be allowed under extenuating circumstances? If so, what circumstances?
Bright: Life begins at conception, therefore the only exception is that a mother enjoys the right of self-defense if her life is threatened.
Graham: I am proudly pro-life. I'm sponsoring a bill that would eliminate abortion on-demand at 20 weeks. We're one of seven nations in the entire world to allow a baby to be aborted at 20 weeks, the fifth month in pregnancy, and my opponent opposes that. This a radical Democratic Party we're dealing with.
I introduced H.4544, known as "The Viagra bill" to expose the hypocrisy of the legislature's "war on women." This bill received national and international acclaim for imposing the same state requirements on men seeking to purchase erectile dysfunction drugs as it would for women seeking to make their own healthcare choices.
GIULIANI: There is no circumstances under which I could possibly imagine anyone choosing slavery or supporting slavery. There are millions of Americans, who are as of good conscience as we are, who make a different choice about abortion. And I think in a country where you want to keep government out of people's lives from the point of view of coercion, you have to respect that.
Q: Governor, has the mayor persuaded you?
HUCKABEE: He has not. I have great respect for the mayor because he's been honest about his position
ROMNEY: First, in RomneyCare, there's no mention of abortion whatsoever. The Massachusetts Supreme Court decided that all times that there was any subsidy of health care in Massachusetts that one received abortion care. That was not done by the legislature; I would have vetoed such a thing. That was done by the courts. #2, it's true, somewhere in that bill of ours, 70 pages, there's the mention of the words "Planned Parenthood," but it describes payment structures.
SANTORUM: You do not specifically mention that abortion is not covered. You can't say: Oh, gee, surprise, the court made us cover abortions. He knew very well that the court would make him cover abortions.
ROMNEY: I appointed probably 50 or 60 judges--at the trial court level, mostly, the great majority. These were former prosecutors; 80% of them former prosecutors. We don't have a litmus test for appointing judges--asking them if they're pro-life or not pro-life. These were people going after crimes and the like. I am pro-life. And the Massachusetts Citizens for Life and several other family-oriented groups wrote a letter two weeks ago and said they'd watched my record, that I was an avidly pro-life governor. I am a pro-life governor; I am a pro-life individual. Is there any possibility that I've ever made a mistake in that regard, I didn't see something that I should have seen? Possibly. But you can count on me, as president, to pursue a policy that protects the life of unborn, whether here in this country or overseas. And I'll reverse the policies of this president.
First, fewer than one in four pregnancies ended in abortion in 2008, the most recent statistics available. Second, Santorum assumes the population is lower by a number equal to total abortions, but that's not the case. One analyst told us "most women obtain abortions to postpone childbearing not to prevent it altogether" and an unknown number of pregnancies would have ended in miscarriage.
GIULIANI: There is no circumstances under which I could possibly imagine anyone choosing slavery or supporting slavery. There are millions of Americans, who are as of good conscience as we are, who make a different choice about abortion. And I think in a country where you want to keep government out of people's lives from the point of view of coercion, you have to respect that.
Q: Governor, has the mayor persuaded you?
HUCKABEE: He has not. I have great respect for the mayor because he's been honest about his position
GILMORE: Giuliani has said that he is against federal funding of abortions, but is in favor of federal financing of abortions. But then on the other hand, he said in the last debate he was against the Hyde Amendment.
Q [to GIULIANI]: You're pro-choice, you're pro-gay rights, you're pro-gun control; Are those the stands of a conservative?
GIULIANI: I think Rudy McRomney wouldn't make a bad ticket. And I kind of like the order. According to George Will, I ran the most conservative government in the last 50 years in NYC. I look for ways in which we can come together. I think we can all agree that we should seek reductions in abortion. I ultimately do believe in a woman's right of choice, but I think that there are ways in which we can reduce abortions. Abortions went down 16% & adoptions went up 133% when I was mayor. We can work together and achieve results that we all want
A: That would be a very difficult situation. But the basic question remains. Is the child in the womb a person? Is it viable life? Is it an innocent person? And if it is a person, it's entitled to respect. We talk about abortion, but abortion is a procedure This is a life that we're talking about. And it's a terrible situation where there's a rape that's involved or incest. But it nonetheless remains that this is a child that we're talking about doing this to, of ending the life of this child. Will that make the woman in a better situation if that's what takes place? I don't think so, and I think we can explain it when we look at it for what it is: a beautiful child of a loving God, that we ought to protect in all circumstances in all places.
Amy Brandstadter Lazenby, a liberal contributor to the anti-Republican and gossip-monger Web-log, FITS News, has been hired as the Communications Director for the Thomas Ravenel Senate campaign. A Sunday press release bears her name and title. Lazenby's name is also included in an Aug. 17 release.
Lazenby, who claims she's not a lobbyist, but a legislative advocate, is married to the wealthy owner of a large personal injury law firm. She has contributed several written pieces to FITS. Most of her activism is based on a pro-abortion agenda. She has also promoted the homosexual lobby for government-funded perpetuating of their cause.
Ravenel claims to be a Libertarian. But could his choice of Lazenby be a sign that he is gone totally leftwing?
A: Stem cell research holds great promise and I support stem cell research. I think it should be adult-derived. Most of the therapies and breakthrough that we are seeing in terms of treatment are coming from adult-derived stem cell research. I strongly support that. As to embryonic stem cell research, I don't think we should pursue that, although Pres. Bush authorized the use of research on certain ste cell lines for which the embryo had already previously been destroyed before the issue came to his desk. I did support his approach for that limited window of stem cell research on those existing lines for which the embryo had already been destroyed.
Scott: Agree
Question topic: Should abortion be allowed under extenuating circumstances? If so, what circumstances?
Scott: (Did not answer)
A: Embryonic stem cells, as well as adult stem cells, show great promise. The president set forth a policy about 72 embryonic lines that could be federally funded and could be used for research with federal funds.
Q: Researchers say there are not that many.
A: Well, there's not that many. There's 22 being used. There's at least three more that have not been used. Some of them were not able to be viable, some of them were not able to have what we call pluripotency, and so they were not able to continue. But there is some tremendous new research, going on with amniotic fluids. There's also some new research that says adult stem cells, if you do it the right way, will have the same characteristics as embryonic stem cells. So until this research is done, we do not have to destroy any more embryos. There's enough lines right now.
"I have backed a lot of conservative issues over the years, and people have asked me why not consider joining the (Republican) party," said McGill, who spent 25 years representing a heavily Democratic district in Williamsburg and Georgetown counties.
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| 2016 Presidential contenders on Abortion: | |||
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Republicans:
Sen.Ted Cruz(TX) Carly Fiorina(CA) Gov.John Kasich(OH) Sen.Marco Rubio(FL) Donald Trump(NY) |
Democrats:
Secy.Hillary Clinton(NY) Sen.Bernie Sanders(VT) 2016 Third Party Candidates: Roseanne Barr(PF-HI) Robert Steele(L-NY) Dr.Jill Stein(G,MA) | ||
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