Records Show Ex-Senator’s Work for Family Planning Unit )Fred Alert!)

The New York Times ^ | July 19, 2007 | Jo Becker

[Josh Painter]

According to records from Arent Fox, the law firm based in Washington where Mr. Thompson worked part-time from 1991 to 1994, he charged the organization, the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, about $5,000 for work he did in 1991 and 1992. The records show that Mr. Thompson, a probable Republican candidate for president in 2008, spent much of that time in telephone conferences with the president of the group, and on three occasions he reported lobbying administration officials on its behalf...

From the time he was elected to the Senate from Tennessee in 1994 until he left office in early 2003, Mr. Thompson voted for every abortion restriction measure as well as a ban on government financed abortion for Defense Department personnel. He has also said that he opposes the Roe v. Wade decision because it establishes a federal right to abortion, an issue that he says should be left to the states...

The billing records from Arent Fox show that Mr. Thompson, who charged about $250 an hour, spoke 22 times with Judith DeSarno, who was then president of the family planning group. In addition, he lobbied “administration officials” for a total of 3.3 hours, the records show...

In a column published on the conservative blog Powerline, Mr. Thompson wrote that in light of lawyer-client confidentiality, it would not be appropriate for him to respond to those who are “dredging up clients — or another lawyer’s clients — that I may have represented or consulted with” 15 or 20 years ago...

He continued, “In almost 30 years of practicing law I must have had hundreds of clients and thousands of conversations about legal matters. Like any good lawyer, I would always try to give my best, objective, and professional opinion on any legal question presented to me.”

[Reagan Man]

BFD!

[elizabetty]

There are at least three problems with this for Fred!

A lawyer's clients and a lobbyist's clients are not really the same thing. Lobbyists get to pick and chose their clients freely.

Does he have a memory problem? I would like to think somebody who wants to be President would remember somebody we spoke with 22 times.

What self-respecting "Pro-Lifer" would ever work for the enemy?

[elizabetty]

Even if Fred did some lobbying for them, it may have had nothing to do with abortion. The above indicates other services.

From Medical News today website quoting the LA Times article
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/76314.php

"...hired Thompson, who was working for the lobbying firm Arent Fox, to urge the George H.W. Bush administration to withdraw or relax a federal policy on funding restrictions for groups providing abortion-related services (Finnegan, Los Angeles Times, 7/7)."

[elizabetty]

NFP is supported by the Catholic church. It couldn’t be farther away from abortion.

They do support abortion and work constantly to relax restrictions on it. They want all woman (and girls) to have all the contraception and abortions they want.
I went to a liberal woman's college and all these groups were well represented there.

These stories are reporting the lobbying Thompson was hired to do was to get the funding restriction relaxed against clinics that offer abortions.

National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, which supports abortion rights,
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/76314.php

[elizabetty]

They also support over the counter sales of Plan B abortion pill and forcing Pharmacists to prescribe it against their moral or religious objections.

"NFPRHA Supports Bill Guaranteeing Access to Prescribed and Over-the-Counter Birth Control -- Pharmacist Refusal Would Be Outlawed

http://www.nfprha.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=ggLRIWODKtF&b=1545087&ct=3939861

[mockingbyrd]

NFP as supported by the Catholic Church stands for Natural Family Planning. Not the same thing.

Not that this changes my support for Fred in anyway......

[elizabetty]

OOPS, you are wrong. From their own website....

"“If Congress and the Administration are serious about reducing unwanted pregnancies and the need for abortions, they will de-fund abstinence-only programs,” said Gallagher. “Young people deserve straight talk about sex so they can make smart, informed decisions about their sexual behavior and its outcomes.”

http://www.nfprha.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=ggLRIWODKtF&b=1545087&ct=3946483

[hocndoc]

The ban went so far to prohibit counseling by a doctor about abortion in any clinic that received Federal funds. In my opinion, it went too far in prohibiting speech, and I’m very pro-life, although I wasn’t as aware of the issue at that time as I am now.

I was a resident at the time and we were told we couldn’t counsel about abortion at all, even when patients asked us questions. (I would tell them that the law prohibited me from counseling them, and then describe the development of their child before birth.)

[SuziQ]

The billing records from Arent Fox show that Mr. Thompson, who charged about $250 an hour, spoke 22 times with Judith DeSarno, who was then president of the family planning group. In addition, he lobbied “administration officials” for a total of 3.3 hours, the records show...

A total of 3.3 hours? Doesn't sound like a huge lobbying gig to me. No wonder he's having trouble remembering anything about it.

I used to work for a Savings and Loan and spent way more than 3.3 hours total time with customers who were applying for a mortgage, during their applications, then closing their loans, and with the exception of one man, dang if I can remember them. That man owned a Budweiser distributorship, and the only reason I remember him is that later he died in a powerboat race, and I heard his name on the news.

[elizabetty]

Actually, they not only support abortion, they file lawsuits trying to get abortion restrictions overturned.

From their website...

NFPRHA Loses Appeal in Challenge to Weldon Refusal Law
On November 14, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled against NFPRHA in its legal challenge of the Federal Refusal Law (a.k.a. the Weldon Law). NFPRHA filed the lawsuit in an attempt to prevent enforcement of the Federal Refusal Clause provision that prohibits discrimination against any health care entity that will not pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions. NFPRHA first filed the suit in December 2004, and the D.C. District Court ruled against NFPRHA on the merits in September 2005. NFPRHA appealed the lower courts decision, leading to the Appellate Court ruling. The Court of Appeals held that NFPRHA lacked standing to challenge the provision, as no actual injury has occurred, and ordered the case to be remanded and dismissed.

From Medscape.cm

The clause, inserted by Rep. Dave Weldon, R-Fla., allows a federally funded "health care entity" to deny women information on abortion services, even if state laws mandate that such information be given upon request. States that attempt to enforce their laws can be accused of discrimination, and be denied all of their health, education and labor funding as appropriated under the omnibus bill.

[Irish Eyes]

Well just darn, you mean that the hero’s hands are not so clean after all.... LOL

[SuziQ]

I think you’re confusing the group with Natural Family Planning, the method used by many to avoid pregnancy. The group about which the article is written is some ‘Family Planning’ group. Maybe they were trying to get federal funds for abortion. Didn’t work.

[CyberAnt]

Pathetic is right. Just because he got paid to do a job .. somehow that’s a bad thing. Good grief!

[nowandlater]

Ouch! The MSM is going to kill Fred with this story.

[Saundra Duffy]

“This is the picture the liberals are trying to paint of Fred”

Welcome to Mitt Romney’s world. Fred is finally getting a taste of what has been going on on the campaign trail lo these many months. (While Fred has been in hiding, the coward.)

[Saundra Duffy]

“NFP is supported by the Catholic church. It couldn’t be farther away from abortion.”

I believe you are mistaken.

[Anti-Bubba182]

The article you cited also says:

Thompson lobbied for abortion-rights group, it says

"..Thompson spokesman Mark Corallo adamantly denied that Thompson worked for the family planning group. "Fred Thompson did not lobby for this group, period," he said in an e-mail.

In a telephone interview, he added: "There's no documents to prove it, there's no billing records, and Thompson says he has no recollection of it, says it didn't happen." In a separate interview, John H. Sununu, the White House official whom the family planning group wanted to contact, said he had no memory of the lobbying and doubted it took place..."

The only document in the article is a two page minutes of a NFPRHA Board Meeting Minutes, September 14, 1991 where they claim to have hired Thompson.

[cuky]

The bad thing is the way this was handled by Fred’s campaign. The original denials, then semi-denials, cries of there is no proof, etc. Now with the billing records showing that Judith DeSarno and company were telling the truth and that Fred made 22 calls to Judith makes Fred look very untrustworthy. I wonder if anyone will ask him if 1rst trimester abortions should be made illegal, if he was given that option in Tennessee? I wonder what the response of Gary Bauer to these revelations?

[Recovering_Democrat]

You're right, Sturm. This is a big YAWNER.

The NY Slimes hides Chuck Schumer's office illegal activities in the financial records of Michael Steele, but think a trifling bit of work by FDT 15 years ago is important.

Liberal bias? They reek of it.

[ejonesie22]

Damn, beat me to it. ;-)