Giuliani’s abortion answers
One of the issues being debated the most out of last night’s Republican presidential candidates’ debate is former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s answers on abortion. Was he trying to court too many constituencies? You be the judge.
Here’s excerpts from the transcript, courtesy of “The New York Times”:http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/03/us/politics/04transcript.html?pagewanted=print :
Moderator Chris Matthews asked, “Would the day that Roe v. Wade is repealed be a good day for Americans?”
When it came his turn, this is what Giuliani had to say:
MR. GIULIANI: It would be okay.
MR. MATTHEWS: Okay to repeal?
MR. GIULIANI: It would be okay to repeal. Or it would be okay also if a strict constructionist judge viewed it as precedent, and I think a judge has to make that decision.
MR. MATTHEWS: Would it be okay if they didn’t repeal it?
MR. GIULIANI: I think that—I think the court has to make that decision, and then the country can deal with it. We’re a federalist system of government, and states could make their own decisions.
A short time later, he got a chance to add to his answer:
MR. MATTHEWS: Let me get back to Governor—Mayor Giuliani because I want to give you a chance on this. You became very well known for standing up against the use of public funds for what many people considered indecent exhibits at the Brooklyn Museum and places like that.
Why do you support the use of public funds for abortion?
MR. GIULIANI: I don’t. I support the Hyde amendment. I hate abortion. I wish people didn’t have abortions.
MR. MATTHEWS: So you’re not for funding at all?
MR. GIULIANI: I believe that the Hyde amendment should remain the law. States should make their decision. Some states decide to do it, most states decide not to do it. And I think that’s the appropriate way to have this decided.
MR. MATTHEWS: Should New York—when you were mayor of New York, should they have been paying for—the state should have been paying for—
MR. GIULIANI: That’s a decision New York made a long time ago, and New York—
MR. MATTHEWS: And where were you on that?
MR. GIULIANI: I supported it in New York. But I think in other places, people can come to a different decision.
MR. MATTHEWS: Thank you.
And later, still more, starting with a Romney answer:
MR. VANDEHEI: Governor Romney, you said that being a pro-life president entails more than just appointing strict constructionist judges. A Politico.com reader wants to know what you meant by that, and whether that was directed specifically at Mayor Giuliani.
MR. ROMNEY: It’s directed at anybody who’s not pro-life. And I have had the opportunity of serving as a governor and finding that while the courts were making decisions that affected abortion, it’s really upon the legislature and the governor to have an impact as well. And so you can fight, for instance, to make sure that partial- birth abortion is made illegal. You can fight to have information given to women who are thinking about having an abortion. You can fight to make sure that there’s opportunities for people to express their views on this topic openly and near abortion clinics. You can fight for the opportunity to go out and campaign for the rights of those that care about this issue to be heard before Election Day, and the McCain-Feingold law prevents that from happening.
MR. MATTHEWS: That’s time, Governor. … Let me ask Mayor Giuliani, do you want to respond to this? Because it seems like across the room here there’s strong, unrelenting—with the exception of Governor Gilmore—an unrelenting pro-life position. You seem to have a nuanced position on this. Many people think you’re pro-choice. Could you define it in a couple of seconds?
MR. GIULIANI: Sure. This is a very, very difficult issue of conscience for many, many people. In my case, I hate abortion. I would encourage someone to not take that option. When I was mayor of New York city, I encouraged adoptions; adoptions went up 65-70 percent, abortions went down 16 percent.
But ultimately, since it is an issue of conscience, I would respect a woman’s right to make a different choice. I support the ban on partial-birth abortion, I support the Hyde amendment, but ultimately I think when you come down to that choice, you have to respect a woman’s right to make that choice differently than my conscience.
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actually rudy is playing to the middle in light of the
recent ruling on partial birth abortion which rudy
supported..This election will be won in the center
and Rudy knows it…getting the republican nomination
isn’t worth spit if you can;t attract democrats
and independents, and hard right social positions
eliminate too many swing states…this time if republicans
are smart they can win pennsylvania, florida, and maybe
even california and new jersey…In fact with rudy as
the candidate I wouldn’t rule out New york
I don’t think Rudy’s abortion answers hurt him as much as the pundits believe. Giuliani’s position is closer to that held by most of the electorate, especially young voters. If Rudy is able to win the nomination espousing such views, he will be a more appealing candidate in the general election.
way to go california..right on the money..now the only
question is does the hard right of the party want to
keep the white house or do they want to stay purists
with regard to their socia positions…that is the
question that needs to be answered..but I believe
that in view of the primaries in fla, Ind, CAL
NY and Pa being moved up to Feb 5th, Rudy could
pull this off
Rudy wants the public to fund abortions. Yikes!
Chat at:
http://osi-speaks.blogspot.com/2007/04/unbelievable-giuliani-still-wants-to.html