2014 VA Senate debate: on Abortion


Ed Gillespie: I never supported a Personhood amendment

Gillespie does not have a long paper trail on abortion issues, and he pushed back when Warner said he would overturn Roe vs. Wade or push a Personhood amendment, which would say life begins at conception. "Please provide the documentation for my support of any of those things," Gillespie said.

Warner countered: "If you are in the Senate, would you vote to overturn Roe vs. Wade? Did you not also support a personhood amendment?"

"No," Gillespie replied. "When did I support a Personhood amendment? There's not going to be a vote to overturn Roe v. Wade," Gillespie said. "That's a Supreme Court decision. I'm running for the United States Senate."

The Warner campaign's evidence that Gillespie supports Personhood is thin. They point to the platform passed by the Republican National Committee in 2004, when Gillespie was party chairman. "Gillespie chose the platform director and said the platform reflects the 'beliefs of our party,'" Warner's campaign emailed after.

Source: Politico.com weblog on 2014 Virginia Senate debate Jul 26, 2014

Ed Gillespie: Sell contraceptives over-the-counter to avoid Hobby Lobby

Gillespie advocated for over-the-counter sale of contraception: Speaking about the Hobby Lobby case involving employer-sponsored contraception, Gillespie said he thinks the issue can be skirted if women are just allowed to buy birth-control medication on their own without a prescription--a position that Colorado GOP Senate candidate Cory Gardner also staked out recently.
Source: Politico.com weblog on 2014 Virginia Senate debate Jul 26, 2014

Ed Gillespie: Opposes abortion

Even with all his experience in politics, serving as a congressional aide and a counselor to President George W. Bush, Gillespie has never been a candidate. He will embark on a campaign when, for the first time since 1969, Virginia Republicans hold no statewide office, and voters know far less about him than about Sen. Warner.

Gillespie, who opposes abortion rights and is conservative on most other issues, is running on the belief that he can unite the party in a way that did not happen last year. He has been reaching out to some of Virginia's conservative activists since Election Day, sounding them out and asking for their support.

Source: New York Times on 2014 Virginia Senate race Jan 9, 2014

  • The above quotations are from 2014 Virginia Senate debates.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Abortion.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Mark Warner on Abortion.
  • Click here for more quotes by Bob McDonnell on Abortion.
Candidates and political leaders on Abortion:

Retired Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retired House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retired House as of Jan. 2015:
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org!
Click for details -- or send donations to:
1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140
E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org
(We rely on your support!)

Page last updated: Dec 07, 2018