Lieutenant governor to join abortion foes in Annapolis march

Baltimore Sun ^ | March 3, 2003 | Tim Craig

[madprof98]

Steele's decision breaks with Ehrlich stance, leaves rights advocates uneasy

Sending a signal he will not waver on his deeply held beliefs, Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele will break from the new Republican administration's stance on abortion tonight by joining the annual Annapolis March for Life rally.

Steele's participation in the event is energizing members of Maryland's anti-abortion community, who say it is the first time in recent memory that a statewide elected official has actively embraced their cause.

"It is an encouragement to the pro-life folks to see a newly elected official standing up for life," said David Lam, executive director of Maryland Right to Life, a sponsor of tonight's event.

But with several abortion-related bills before the General Assembly this year, Steele is causing unease among abortion-rights supporters.

They fear that he could lobby Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. - who ran as an abortion-rights candidate - and other legislators on the issue.

"It's one thing to march; it's another thing to lobby," said Del. Samuel I. Rosenberg, a Baltimore Democrat and longtime abortion-rights supporter.

*****

But even Steele's acknowledgement that he plans to discuss abortion with the governor concerns abortion-rights supporters.

"It is hard for us to know if Governor Ehrlich would be swayed by the lieutenant governor's extreme views," said Diana Onken, Maryland regional organizer for the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League.

Steele, a devout Catholic who briefly studied to become a priest in the early 1980s, has such firm beliefs on abortion that he said in the campaign that he opposes it even in cases of rape or incest.

Over the weekend, he said abortion in cases of rape or incest should be looked at on a "case-by-case" basis. But he added that any exceptions are "a slippery slope if you believe in the sanctity of life."

*****

While they agree on most issues, Steele's religious convictions also have prompted him to dissent with Ehrlich's pro-death penalty stance. In January, Steele - who opposes the death penalty - publicly called for a study on whether capital punishment is fairly applied.

[madprof98]

A public official taking a public stand for the ethical principles of his faith. And in Maryland, no less. Quite a contrast with the last lieutenant governor there. And it helps that this one is African-American. Hard for the libs to make him the butt of hateful cartoons, for example.

[apackof2]

Brave pro-life stand bump

[George from New England]

God Bless him and his family.

[George from New England]

Let's hope Bush sees this guy. We need him higher up with these excellent beliefs.

[MHGinTN]

To the liberals who see their bloody rite endangered, this man will quickly be turned into an Uncle Tom. 'Lie'berals will sacrifice anything and anyone ... you know that because they're already championing the arbitrary slaughter of the little ones.

[2timothy3.16]

Steele, a devout Catholic who briefly studied to become a priest in the early 1980s, has such firm beliefs on abortion that he said in the campaign that he opposes it even in cases of rape or incest.

Even in cases of rape and incest, the baby is innocent, didn't do anything, so why should the baby be the one that gets killed? Why not execute the rapist? How about executing the one who comitted incest?

Hey, here is a novel ideal, how about we do to the rapist what the pro-aborts want to do to the baby.

Good man Steele, hang in there!

[Cicero]

Even in a liberal state like Maryland, I suspect that large numbers of voters are growing uncomfortable with the idea of abortion. Labeling Steele an extremist, which used to be a fairly simple matter, is getting less and less convincing.

I was VERY encouraged by the results of the 2002 election, which showed that all over the country the voters are voting for pro-life candidates, not pro-aborts. I keep hoping that Karl Rove is open and flexible enough to understand what that means.

[foreverfree]

Channel 11 (Baltimore) had its reporter (on for less than a minute) at USNA Stadium and there were a handful of prolife demonstrators behind him, well behaved. He reported that Steele would be late because of an overturned TT on I-97. (Drive safely, Marylanders, an accident can have more "victims" than you think, even a lieutenant governor.)

That said, Mike Steele rocks!

foreverfree

[foreverfree]

Here's how Annapolis' newspaper reported it. Check out the drummers from Annapolis Christian School in the photo.

foreverfree