Al Gore in God and Hillary Clinton: A Spiritual Life, by Paul Kengor, published Sept. 18, 2007

On Abortion: US should not seek international right to abortion

On Aug. 25, V.P. Gore stated definitively that the US “has not sought, does not seek, and will not seek to establish an international right to abortion. Typically, such an emphatic statement would have resolved the matter. However, this Vatican did not trust this administration. In an extraordinary counter-response, the pope’s spokesman accused Gore of bad faith, stating, “The draft population document, which has the US as its principal sponsor, contradicts, in reality, Mr. Gore’s statement.” The Vatican rarely mentioned a politician by name; singling out “Mr. Gore” was highly uncharacteristic.