John Ashcroft on Abortion Former Attorney General; Former Republican Senator (MO)

Opposes Roe v Wade, but accepts it as settled law

I have been entrusted with public service for more than 25 years. It’s a responsibility I have honored and a trust that I believe I have kept. During those years I have not thought of myself as a public servant of some of the people, but a keeper of the public trust for all the people. If I become US attorney general, I again commit to enforcing the law, all of the law for all of the people. As a man of faith I take my word and my integrity seriously. So when I swear to uphold the law I will keep my oath, so help me God.

Restricting abortion has been a hallmark of his career

The son of a Pentecostal minister and a champion of the religious right, Ashcroft believes that abortion is wrong in nearly all cases. Indeed, his dozens of votes and proclamations seeking to severely restrict abortion-first as attorney general and governor of Missouri, then as a U.S. senator-have been a hallmark of his career, his record shows.

Ashcroft makes no excuses for his passionate views on abortion, decrying the politics of moderation. “I don’t apologize for being unyielding when I speak on behalf of a balanced budget or in opposition to big government or in favor of protecting the lives of unborn children,” he wrote in his 1999 autobiography.

Would enforce laws against abortion clinic attacks

The key question surrounding Ashcroft’s nomination is how his strong beliefs and political ties on abortion might shape his performance as attorney general. Critics warned that he could leave his imprint in three crucial ways:
• By urging the White House to appoint U.S. Supreme Court justices and federal judges who might oppose Roe vs. Wade and other case law,
• by advising Congress on the legality of anti-abortion legislation,
• and by backing away from enforcement of a 1994 law making it a federal crime to obstruct access to abortion clinics.

Life begins at conception

His record is long and unrelenting.
• “If I had the opportunity to pass but a single law,” he told a conservative newsletter in 1998, “I would fully recognize the constitutional right to life of every unborn child and ban every abortion except for those medically necessary to save the life of the mother.”
• As Missouri attorney general, Ashcroft defended all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court a 1979 Missouri law that restricted where, how and when abortions could be performed. In a split decision, the high court upheld some of the restrictions and invalidated others.
• As governor, Ashcroft signed a law declaring that life begins at conception and imposing numerous restrictions on facilities and personnel used for abortions.
• And as a U.S. senator, he voted to end so-called partial-birth abortions in a measure ultimately vetoed by President Clinton, and he opposed a measure declaring access to abortion as an important constitutional right.

Supports “human rights amendment” against abortion

His critics depict Ashcroft as an extremist. The liberal People for the American Way group has attacked Ashcroft for supporting a ban on abortions even in cases of rape or incest. The group said that his call to pass a constitutional “human rights amendment”--defining human life as beginning at the point of “fertilization”-- could outlaw common forms of contraception, such as the pill and IUDs. He also has opposed requiring federal health insurance plans to cover prescription contraceptives.

Opposes all abortion, even for rape and incest

As senator, he tried to get the Constitution amended to outlaw abortion, even in cases of rape and incest.

Voted YES on maintaining ban on Military Base Abortions.

Voted YES on banning human cloning.