Politically speaking, a couple of major developments have occurred this week. Former Governor Jon Huntsman of Utah threw his hat in the presidential ring.
An examination of his pro-life views shows that in March of 2009 he signed three pro-life bills into law. LifeNews reported on the legislation:
The first measure, HB 90, makes second-trimester abortions illegal and ups the penalty for doing an illegal later-term abortion to a second degree felony from a third degree felony.
HB 222 is a bill to allow women to know about the pain an abortion will cause to their unborn child. The bill requires abortion practitioners to tell women about the pain their baby will feel during an abortion. The measure is another effort to help reduce abortions until the day comes that unborn children are protected under law. The bill allows women considering an abortion to provide anesthesia to the baby beforehand, which helps underscore how the abortion will hurt the baby. It allows them 24 hours to consider the pain information before going through with the abortion.
The final bill, HB 114, would create a legal defense fund that private citizens could donate to in order to defend an abortion ban they expect to receive approval of by 2014.
Huntsman also has adopted two daughters from China and India.
The Susan B. Anthony List presented all of the GOP presidential candidates a pro-life pledge to sign or decline:
FIRST, to nominate to the U.S. federal bench judges who are committed to restraint and applying the original meaning of the Constitution, not legislating from the bench;
SECOND, to select only pro-life appointees for relevant Cabinet and Executive Branch positions, in particular the head of National Institutes of Health, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Health & Human Services;
THIRD, to advance pro-life legislation to permanently end all taxpayer funding of abortion in all domestic and international spending programs, and defund Planned Parenthood and all other contractors and recipients of federal funds with affiliates that perform or fund abortions;
FOURTH, advance and sign into law a Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to protect unborn children who are capable of feeling pain from abortion.
All of the candidates signed it except Mitt Romney, Herman Cain, and Gary Johnson. Of course, Johnson wouldn't sign it because he is pro-abortion but the other two surprised many people.
Romney stated his reasons for not signing it:
“I am pro-life and believe that abortion should be limited to only instances of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother. . ..
“As much as I share the goals of the Susan B. Anthony List, its well-meaning pledge is overly broad and would have unintended consequences. That is why I could not sign it. It is one thing to end federal funding for an organization like Planned Parenthood; it is entirely another to end all federal funding for thousands of hospitals across America. That is precisely what the pledge would demand and require of a president who signed it.”
Herman Cain said he agrees with the first three parts of the pledge because he “adamantly” supports the appointing pro-life judges and selecting pro-life appointees to his Cabinet and the Executive Branch as well ending taxpayer funding for abortions, but he had a problem with the last part of the pledge.
Herman Cain's statement on why he didn't sign it is as follows:
“The fourth requirement demands that I 'advance' the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. As president, I would sign it, but Congress must advance the legislation,” he said. “I have been a consistent and unwavering champion of pro life issues. In no way does this singular instance of clarification denote an abandonment of the pro-life movement, but instead, is a testament to my respect for the balance of power and the role of the presidency.”
I don't have much of a problem with Cain not signing it, but Romney's apparent pro-life position is troubling. As noted in my previous post about the candidates Romney was once very pro-abortion when he was governor of Massachusetts. What is disturbing is that something so important as whether an unborn child should be killed or not is put on the same level of how to handle a state budget, homosexual marriage, or any number of everyday situations a governor must handle. The abortion issue has such a moral component to it that one's views of it reflects their core values. It's not something that should be changed on a whim to get elected which seems to be the case with Romney.
It's very encouraging that most of the other candidates are not just saying they're pro-life, but that have a record to back it up. Never trust a politician if he claims to be pro-life without checking his background on abortion first. The only exception to that is if it's a political novice running, and then you just have to take their word for it.
I have eliminated three candidates in the GOP race. First, Romney for the aforementioned reasons. Second, Gary Johnson because he's pro-abortion and has a pro-marijuana stance. Third, Jon Huntsman because he sounds just like another John McCain. In his speech announcing his run for president Huntsman stated:
"I don't think you need to run down anyone's reputation to run for president," he said. "I respect my fellow Republican candidates. And I respect the president. He and I have a difference of opinion on how to help the country we both love. But the question each of us wants the voters to answer is, who will be the better president, not who's the better American."
We already tried the "let's just get along" approach last time with McCain and look where it got us. A campaign should have two elements: Why should people vote for you, and why they should not vote for your opponent. The Left in this country rarely proclaims that they want to be civil with us and if they do, they don't mean it. We can be civil but still attack President Obama. Many in America do not respect the current president and they want a candidate who has the courage to be on the offensive and not let the Democrats control the Republicans as to what can and can't be said.
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