Jim Huffman on Abortion

Pro-choice but Roe v. Wade was a bad decision

Wyden charged Huffman had contradictory positions on abortion. Huffman told people in Western Oregon that he was pro-choice on abortion, said Wyden, but in Eastern Oregon, Huffman said the Supreme Court made a bad decision in legalizing abortion with its 1973 landmark ruling on Roe vs. Wade. Huffman replied that was not a contradiction.

"You can be pro-choice and still believe Roe vs. Wade is a bad decision," said Huffman, who taught constitutional law.

Source: OregonLive.com coverage of 2010 Oregon Senate debate Oct 22, 2010

Supports abortion rights, but no federal funding

Huffman, who has taught constitutional law for 37 years at Lewis & Clark Law School, where he also served as dean, says he's socially moderate and fiscally conservative. He supports abortion rights, though no federal funding for abortion, and civil unions for gay couples. He says he differs most fundamentally from Wyden in his view that government should have a limited role in American lives. Source: Oregon Live coverage of 2010 Oregon Senate Debate Oct 8, 2010

Pro-choice, but issue has corrupted politics

Huffman says that the abortion issue has "corrupted American politics for way too long" and that it is so difficult because, unlike most individual rights cases, it pits the rights of two individuals--the mother and the unborn--against each other. If forced into one camp or the other, he says he would be characterized as pro-choice. Source: Elizabeth Hovde, columnist in The Oregonian Mar 6, 2010

Click here for definitions & background information on Abortion. Click here for a profile of Jim Huffman. Click here for SenateMatch answers by Jim Huffman. Agree? Disagree? Voice your opinions on Abortion in The Forum. Click here for a summary of Jim Huffman's positions on all issues. Click here for issue positions of other OR politicians.
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Page last updated: Nov 26, 2010