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Mike Huckabee on Abortion

Republican AR Governor


In AR, instituted "Choose Life" license plates

Source: Do The Right Thing, by Mike Huckabee, p.124-126 , Nov 18, 2008

I am actively PRO-LIFE not just quietly pro-life

Another issue that defines us as conservatives--or SHOULD define us--is our support to life. To my mind, there isn't any room for wishy-washiness on this point. During the 2008 campaign season, none of the candidates had accomplished more on life issues that I had--no one. Now, you can be quietly and passively pro-life, or you can be passionately and actively PRO-LIFE. I am the latter. I first became politically active because of my view on the sanctity of life.
Source: Do The Right Thing, by Mike Huckabee, p. 18 , Nov 18, 2008

Unborn Child Amendment: all legally possible to protect life

I worked on Arkansas's Unborn Child Amendment, which requires the state to do whatever it legally can to protect life. As governor, I sure did all I legally could. The many pro-life laws I got through my Democrat legislature are the accomplishments that give me the most pride. I pushed for and signed bills that banned partial-birth abortion; that required parental notification; that required a woman to give informed consent before having an abortion; that required a woman be told that her baby will experience pain and be given the option of anesthesia for her baby; that allowed a woman to deliver her baby and leave the child safely at a hospital; and that made it a crime for an unborn child to be injured or murdered during an attack on its mother.

What I accomplished a governor proves that there is a lot more that a pro-life president can do than twiddle his thumbs waiting for a Supreme Court vacancy. I would argue that the very foundation of our country rests on our respect for life.

Source: Do The Right Thing, by Mike Huckabee, p. 18-19 , Nov 18, 2008

Culture of life encompasses more3 than just abortion issue

Historically, America has been a culture of life--but in today's debates, the issue is often obscured by the debate about abortion, which centers on the right of a pregnant woman to choose the disposition of her unborn child without any interference or input from the father, the family, or the federal government. But the culture of life is so much more.

Let me be clear: It's not that the debate about abortion is unimportant. With the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, we, as a society, exchanged our sense of responsibility toward human life for a greater heralding of the right to terminate it. Even more disturbing was that the decision to end the innocent life of an unborn child was vested solely in the hands of the biological mother in whose body this unique life existed and would grow into a fully developed and functional human being.

Source: Do The Right Thing, by Mike Huckabee, p. 37-38 , Nov 18, 2008

Pro-stem cell research but not embryonic stem cells

One of the hot-button political issues has been whether one supports federal funding for stem cell research that involves human embryos. Unfortunately, congressional Democrats painted pro-life forces as being against stem cell research that would save lives and cure diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and diabetes. The fact is, strong pro-life activists support stem cell research and even federal funding of it as long as the stem cells are not obtained from human embryos that were created specifically for the purpose of their being destroyed in the process of research. Even then the issue was not whether the research could take place but whether federal tax dollars should pay for the very narrow and specific form of stem cell research that employs the use of human embryos.

Fortunately for all of us, medical science rendered the argument moot: stem cells derived from umbilical cords and other sources have proven to be as viable and advantageous as human embryonic stem cells.

Source: Do The Right Thing, by Mike Huckabee, p. 41 , Nov 18, 2008

No state-by-state decisions on moral issues like abortion

Roe v. Wade simply took the issue of protecting human life from the jurisdiction of individual state law and added a new level of protection in the name of privacy at the federal level. [If abortion were] a political issue, then it would be logical for the issue to be decided by the individual states--but it is a moral issue. The right to life is a fundamental right that does not--CANNOT--vary from state to state. The very idea of each and every state having a different standard of morality as it relates to the sanctity of life is ludicrous.

In the 1860s, states in the South believed that each state should set its own terms for how to deal with the issue of slavery. Wise and principled leaders insisted that this could not be treated as a political issue but would have to be dealt with as a moral issue.

It's my hope & prayer that we will also come to an inescapable conclusion that it is equally irrational to believe that human life can mean something different in each of the 50 states.

Source: Do The Right Thing, by Mike Huckabee, p. 42-43 , Nov 18, 2008

Life question reflects nation’s nature & equality of humans

Q: On Thursday, you won the endorsement of Dr. James Dobson, the founder of the Focus on the Family.

A: Yes.

Q: Dobson said McCain was “not a conservative” because of his stance on abortion, among other things. Do you agree with Dr. Dobson?

A: I would say that if you compare Sen. McCain to Hillary or Obama, he’s much a conservative. I do think that there are issues where he takes sharp contrast with the mainstream of conservative thought. And those are real sensitive issues for many of us. The life issue is a defining issue for me personally. Because we think that if you are wrong on the life question, it reflects a misunderstanding of the nature of our nation and the equality of human beings, that there is intrinsic worth and value in each of us, that individual power and freedom that our founding fathers so believed in that they put their lives on the line for it, begins to deteriorate at the point when you start saying some lives are worth more than others.

Source: Meet the Press: 2008 “Meet the Candidates” series , Feb 10, 2008

Will lead fight for constitutional ban on abortion

I would support and be willing to lead a Human Life Amendment to the constitution. Our Founding Fathers said we’re all equal. At the heart of understanding that, if we are indeed equal, all of us have intrinsic worth, and no one has more than another. I believe the sanctity of a human life is rooted in who we are as a culture and as a civilization. And should we turn our back on this fundamental truth, we have turned our back on the very essence and foundation of who we are as a people.
Source: Speeches to 2008 Conservative Political Action Conference , Feb 7, 2008

I’m pro-life, but have no opinion on Justice O’Connor

Q: Was O’Connor the right choice?

A: History will have to determine that. We need to talk about why the issue of right-to-life is important. For many of us, this is an issue of principle and conviction. It goes to the heart of who we are as a country. If we value each other as human beings & believe that everybody has equal worth, and that that intrinsic value is not affected by net worth, or ancestry, or last name, or job description, or ability, or disability, then the issue of the sanctity of human life is far bigger than just being anti-abortion. It’s about being pro-life and exercising that deep conviction held by our founding fathers that all of us are equal & no one is more equal than another, recognizing that once we ever decide that some people are more equal or less equal than others, then we start moving that line, & it may include us some day. I’m pro-life. I value every human being. I would always make every decision always on the side of life every time I could, without equivocation

Source: 2008 Republican debate at Reagan Library in Simi Valley , Jan 30, 2008

No states rights for moral issues like abortion

Q: Thompson and McCain both talk about leaving abortion to the states, the way it was before Roe vs. Wade ever became the law of the land in the first place. Why isn’t that good enough?

A: Well, it’s the logic of the Civil War. If morality is the point here, and if it’s right or wrong, not just a political question, then you can’t have 50 different versions of what’s right and what’s wrong. Again, that’s what the whole Civil War was about. Can you have states saying slavery is OK, other states saying it’s not? If abortion is a moral issue--and for many of us it is, and I know for others it’s not. So if you decide that it’s just a political issue, then that’s a perfectly acceptable, logical conclusion. But for those of us for whom this is a moral question, you can’t simply have 50 different versions of what’s right.

Source: Fox News Sunday: 2007 “Choosing the President” interviews , Nov 18, 2007

No tax funding for organizations that promote abortion

Q: The Mexico City Policy states that as a condition for a foreign organization to receive federal funds, they will neither “perform nor actively promote abortion.” Would you work to apply this Mexico City policy to organizations within the US?

HUCKABEE: Are we being asked to apply a Mexican law to the US?

Q: It’s the principle of not giving our tax dollars to organizations within our country that actively promote or provide abortions. It’s an American law.

BROWNBACK: This is Ronald Reagan’ policy that we wouldn’t use federal funds to support organizations that promote abortions overseas.

HUNTER: It’s actually a UN policy.

KEYES: Actually, it was a policy of the Mexico City Population Conference. I was the deputy chairman. I actually negotiated the language into the final resolution at that conference.

Q: I want to know, will you defund Planned Parenthood?

Source: [Xref Keyes] 2007 GOP Values Voter Presidential Debate , Sep 17, 2007

Led Arkansas to human life amendment in state constitution

I would love to see us have in this country what I helped lead in our state in Arkansas, and that’s a human life amendment to our state constitution, Amendment 65, that says that we believe life begins at conception, and that we ought to do everything in the world possible to protect it until its natural conclusion. And that means that we truly value and respect, elevate and celebrate every life.
Source: 2007 GOP debate at UNH, sponsored by Fox News , Sep 5, 2007

Consensus impossible: pro-choice world fundamentally differs

Dr. Joycelyn Elders told Christians they needed to “get over their love affair with the fetus”--a phrase that was often repeated after she became Clinton’s surgeon general. The comment particularly offended Christian believers. Clinton asked me how much of a problem it was causing. I told him it was a serious problem. She had deeply offended many people. It was a slap in the face to those who held pro-life convictions. “I wish you would explain to her how people in the evangelical world feel. Would you be willing to talk to her,“ asked Clinton.

I said I would be happy to. Clinton set up a meeting. After talking, I recognized she was absolutely sincere in her beliefs. I realized that the reason her positions on these issues so conflicted with mine was that our worldviews were fundamentally at odds. Reaching a consensus was impossible. She had her own idea of what a ”dash“ of salt was--in this case, a ”dash“ of human life--and recognized no standard that could show her she was wrong.

Source: Character Makes a Difference, by Mike Huckabee, p.110-111 , Jun 1, 2007

Hate abortion but allow it is like hate slavery but allow it

Q [to GIULIANI]: You have said that you personally hate abortion but support a woman’s right to choose. Gov. Huckabee says that’s like saying, “I hate slavery, but people can go ahead and practice it.” Tell me why he’s wrong.

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

Source: [X-ref Giuliani] 2007 Republican Debate in South Carolina , May 15, 2007

Certainly good day for America when Roe v. Wade is repealed

Q: Would the day that Roe v. Wade is repealed be a good day for America?

ROMNEY: Absolutely.

BROWNBACK: It would be a glorious day of human liberty and freedom.

GILMORE: Yes, it was wrongly decided.

HUCKABEE: Most certainly.

HUNTER: Yes.

THOMPSON: Yes.

McCAIN: A repeal.

GIULIANI: It would be OK to repeal.

TANCREDO: After 40 million dead because we have aborted them in this country, that would be the greatest day in this country’s history when that, in fact, is overturned.

Source: 2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC , May 3, 2007

Embryonic stem cell research creates life to end a life

Q: For embryonic stem cell federal funding or not?

GILMORE: We can’t create people in order to experiment with people.

HUCKABEE: I would concur. I don’t think it’s right to create a life to end a life. That’s not a good health decision.

HUNTER: No. I’d like to show Mrs. Reagan the alternatives, which are adult stem cells.

Source: 2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC , May 3, 2007

Pro-life includes improving life after birth

Q: South Dakota had some proposed legislation to outlaw all abortion except saving the life of a mother, no exceptions for rape or incest. You said you’d sign that. Why?

A: I always am going to err on the side of life. I believe life is precious. I hav been in the pro-life camp since I was a teenager. It’s because of my view that God is the creator and instigator of life. But those of us in the pro-life movement have to do also some expanding. Life begins at conception but it doesn’t end at birth. And if we’re really pro-life we have to be concerned about more than just the gestation period. [My administration] passed pro-life legislation, but we also did things that improved the environmental quality that would affect a child’s air and water; that he had a better education, & better access to affordable health care. So I think that real pro-life people need to be concerned about affordable housing, safe neighborhoods, access to a college education. That, for me, is what pro-life has to mean.

Source: Meet the Press: 2007 “Meet the Candidates” series , Jan 28, 2007

Outlaw all abortions; err on the side of life

Q: South Dakota had some proposed legislation to outlaw all abortion except saving the life of a mother, no exceptions for rape or incest. You said you’d sign that. Why?

A: I always am going to err on the side of life. I believe life is precious. It’s because of my view that God is the creator and instigator of life.

Q: But if you outlawed abortion, what would happen to the doctor who performed an abortion? What would happen to the woman who had an abortion?

A: Well, I think the question is, Do I think the South Dakota bill is the best bill that ever could be signed? This is a debate that’s been so divisive. What we really need to be doing is having the discussion center around how can we create a culture where people value and celebrate life.

Q: As president, you would seek to ban abortion?

A: I would seek always to promote the view that life is precious and should be protected. But I think it has to be won on a battlefield of one heart at a time rather than pieces of legislation at a time.

Source: Meet the Press: 2007 “Meet the Candidates” series , Jan 28, 2007

Pro-life and pro-death penalty, & sees them as far different

Some wonder how a person so pro-life as me could accept the law of a death penalty. But a death sentence is a result of a lengthy and thorough judicial process applied to a person deemed guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. That’s far different from one person singularly deciding to end the life of a totally innocent and helpless unborn child. In that case, there is no process of justice, no evidence of guilt presented, no defense for the condemned child, and no appeal.
Source: From Hope to Higher Ground, by Mike Huckabee, p. 86 , Jan 4, 2007

Even Americans who are pro-choice are pro-life

It would be fair to say that I am in politics because I am pro-life. By no means am I a single-issue person, but on that single issue I am steadfastly consistent. The abortion issue goes to the very heart of what I believe and it is consistent with the American tradition of giving voice to the voiceless.

The record I am proudest of is having signed numerous pieces of pro-life legislation., including a ban on partial-birth abortion. Another bill established a woman’s right to know, ensuring her consent to an abortion is an informed one, based on the same information she would be given if she were removing her tonsils instead of her baby. Equally important was legislation mandating parents be informed and provide consent before the serious surgical procedure of an abortion could be performed on a minor. We also pushed through legislation requiring doctors to inform the mother that the unborn child will feel pain, and provide the option to anesthetize the baby prior to abortion.

Source: From Hope to Higher Ground, by Mike Huckabee, p.123-124 , Jan 4, 2007

Eliminate public funding for abortion organizations

Source: 2002 AR Gubernatorial National Political Awareness Test , Nov 1, 2002

Supports woman’s right-to-know legislation

[We should] provide for every person who’s contemplating the termination of her child during pregnancy that she has information, knowing fully and completely the procedure that is taking place and what it will mean. Commonly called the woman’s right-to-know legislation, it really goes back to school, back to educating people.
Source: 2001 State of the State address to the Arkansas legislature , Jan 9, 2001

Pro-life, but respects choice as mandated law

I’m pro life, but I know not everyone agrees with me on that particular topic, and I respect that. I’ll probably never change my conviction on that, and some of you won’t change yours. But in this day in which we talk about choice and the importance of it, surely we can agree that if under the Supreme Court choice is mandated, that choice should be as educated a choice as is humanly possible.
Source: 2001 State of the State address to the Arkansas legislature , Jan 9, 2001

By deciding abortion is OK, we're our own god

Public debate today is filled with arguments that, not long ago, would have been dismissed as ridiculous.

Abortion became OK because we decided it is OK. Where did we get the right to make that decision? Because we're our own god. If the inconvenience of this little child would interrupt our college education or a relationship with a boyfriend or girlfriend, then that child became nothing more than a choice. "It's my choice. I decide for myself. What about me?" That is the essence of our culture.

Source: Character IS the Issue, by Mike Huckabee, p. 98-99 , Sep 9, 1997

Other candidates on Abortion: Mike Huckabee on other issues:
Incumbents:
Pres.Barack Obama
V.P.Joe Biden
GOP Candidates:
Rep.Michele Bachmann(MN)
Herman Cain(GA)
Rep.Newt Gingrich(GA)
Gov.Jon Huntsman(UT)
Gov.Gary Johnson(NM)
Rep.Thaddeus McCotter(MI)
Rep.Ron Paul(TX)
Gov.Rick Perry(TX)
Gov.Buddy Roemer(LA)
Gov.Mitt Romney(MA)
Sen.Rick Santorum(PA)
GOP Withdrawals:
Gov.Haley Barbour(MS)
Gov.Chris Cristie(NJ)
Mayor Rudy Giuliani(NYC)
Gov.Mike Huckabee(AR)
Gov.Bobby Jindal(LA)
Gov.Sarah Palin(AK)
Gov.Tim Pawlenty(MN)
Donald Trump(NY)
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Page last updated: Feb 24, 2012