Posted on 01/18/2007 9:27:26 AM PST by Dark Skies
As pro-lifers prepare to mark Monday’s 34th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe vs. Wade decision, many wonder whether they could support former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani for president despite his pro-choice views. While some of Giuliani’s statements on abortion make pro-lifers fret, they should find his record surprisingly reassuring.
“I don’t like abortion,” Giuliani said in South Carolina’s The State newspaper last November 21. “I don’t think abortion is a good thing. I think we ought to find some alternative to abortion, and that there ought to be as few as possible.”
Nevertheless, Giuliani’s pro-life critics point to his April 5, 2001 address to the National Abortion Rights Action League’s “Champions of Choice” luncheon in Manhattan.
“As a Republican who supports a woman’s right to choose, it is particularly an honor to be here,” Giuliani said. He added: “The government shouldn’t dictate that choice by making it a crime or making it illegal.”
“I have a daughter now,” Giuliani told TV’s Phil Donahue during his unsuccessful 1989 mayoral campaign. Giuliani continued: “I would give my personal advice, my religious and moral views…I would help her with taking care of the baby. But if the ultimate choice of the woman -- my daughter or any other woman -- would be that in this particular circumstance, to have an abortion, I’d support that. I’d give my daughter the money for it.”
But did Giuliani’s mayoral deeds match such words?
According to the state Office of Vital Statistics, total abortions performed in New York City between 1993 (just before Giuliani arrived) and 2001 (as he departed) fell from 103,997 to 86,466 -- a 16.86 percent decrease. This upended a 10.32 percent increase compared to eight years before Giuliani, when 1985 witnessed 94,270 abortions.
What about Medicaid-financed abortions? Under Giuliani, such taxpayer-funded feticides dropped 22.85 percent, from 45,006 in 1993 to 34,722 in 2001.
The abortion ratio also slid from 890 terminations per 1,000 live births in 1993 to 767 in 2001, a 13.82 percent tail-off. This far outpaced the 2.84 percent reduction from 1985’s ratio of 916 to 1993’s 890. While abortions remained far more common in Gotham than across America (2001’s U.S. abortion ratio was 246), they diminished during Giuliani’s tenure, as they did nationally.
Giuliani essentially verbalized his pro-choice beliefs while avoiding policies that would have impeded abortion’s generally downward trajectory.
New York pro-lifers concede that Giuliani never attempted anything like what current Mayor Michael Bloomberg promulgated in July 2002. Eight city-run hospitals added abortion instruction to the training expected of their OB-GYN medical residents. Only those with moral objections may refuse this requirement.
Giuliani could have issued such rules, but never did.
Interestingly enough, after Giuliani left, Medicaid abortions under Bloomberg increased 5.19 percent from 34,722 in 2001 to 36,523 in 2003.
Asked if he could cite any Giuliani initiative that advanced abortion, New York State Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long told me, “I don’t remember, and I don’t think so.” He added: “I never remember seeing him promote the issue, to my knowledge.”
“I like him a lot -- although he doesn’t share my particular point of view on social issues,” televangelist Pat Robertson said May 1, 2005 on ABC’s “This Week.” “He did a super job running the city of New York and I think he’d make a good president.”
If Giuliani can sway Pat Robertson, can he attract other pro-lifers? Short of dizzying himself and others with a 180-degree reversal from a pro-choice to a pro-life posture, Giuliani should embrace parental-notification rules, so minors who seek abortions need their folks’ permission, as they now do for ear piercing. He should oppose partial-birth abortion, which even Democrats such as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and liberal stalwart Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont have voted to prohibit.
Similarly, Giuliani should propose that Uncle Sam exit embryonic-stem-cell research laboratories and instead let drug companies -- not government -- finance such embryocidal experiments, if they must. He also could pledge to nominate constitutionalist judges skeptical of penumbras emanating outside Planned Parenthood clinics.
And, of course, Rudolph W. Giuliani should remind Republican primary voters that on his watch, total abortions, taxpayer-funded Medicaid abortions, and the abortion ratio all went the right way: down.
Mr. Murdock, a New York-based commentator to HUMAN EVENTS, is a columnist with the Scripps Howard News Service and a media fellow with the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace at Stanford University.
Actually should Giuliani go that route, you might as well vote for Obama. A recent talking points coming from the RATS is that Bill Clinton decreased the abortion rate wheareas Ronald Reagan increased the abortion rate.
In the past, Obama sneered at pro-lifers for being right-wing extremists. These days, he says pro-lifers and pro-choicers ought to work together to reduce abortions by supporting minimum wage increases, increase spending on public education, and universal healthcare. Given Obama's Mr Clean image, he would sound more credible.
Sign the partial-birth abortion ban. Appoint pro-life (or at least anti-Roe) judges. Promote a pro-life position from the bully pulpit.
Dear zarf,
When asked, "Should abortion be legal only in cases to save the life of the mother, in cases of rape or incest, and in cases of severe genetic deformity," majorities answer "yes."
These represent less than 4% of abortions.
Most folks, however, think that these constitute a majority of abortions. Thus, folks think that "keeping abortion legal" means mostly keeping abortion legal for these exception cases.
As well, recent polls seem to indicate that younger, college-educated folks are becoming increasingly more pro-life.
sitetest
Slick Willie coined the "safe, legal, and rare" propaganda phrase.
Now we're hearing it from Slick Rudy.
That is almost a word for word quote from Hillary (as you seem to be pointing out.)
Ohhhh more sweet talk from the Rudy haters! I'm enthralled!
How many times have we heard that one? That's the public position taken by all "pro-choice" politicians.
Maybe I'm missing something here, but I don't see anything that Giuliani actually did to restrict abortions in a way that would be satisfactory from a right-to-life point of view. He apparently didn't promote abortion as Bloomberg does, but the decline in abortions in NYC during his time in office seems to be more of a coincidence than anything else.
Dear Hildy,
"Again...what would the President do to stop abortions?"
I've gone over this ground a couple of hundred times before with different posters. Maybe even you. LOL.
"I thought you wanted it to go back to the States anyway."
Even if that accurately described my ultimate goal, how could that happen without overturning Roe? How can Roe be overturned by electing a president who believes that Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a good choice for the Supreme Court (yes, Mr. Giuliani actually said that, right after saying that Mr. Roberts was a good choice)?
"I'll be honest and tell you that making abortion the number one issue is not only foolish, but dangerous for the country."
I'll be honest and tell you that refusing to priortize protecting a million innocent human lives per year is monstrous.
sitetest
You're the one flacking this candidate ... give me a reason to vote FOR him.
Don't bother with bandwagons and bogeymen. If that's all you have, I'm not interested.
He's still anti-gun, pro gay and cheated on his wife.
Hunter doesn't have to send MSM shills out like this to get his conservative side shown.
Won't be long for the doom and gloomers to be showing up with their 'sky is falling' if you support Rudy.
After giving it a lot of thought, I have decided that this 'Common Sense Conservative' will be supporting Rudy all the way and am getting prepared to go make a donation. I am following the position of Ronald Reagan which also is being followed by Sen Brownback in this quote --“It’s a big-tent party and has been for a long period of time, particularly since Ronald Reagan talked about this being a party of different viewpoints,” he said. “If somebody agrees with you 80 percent of the time, he’s not your enemy.” Sam Brownback In the end, there are going to be a lot more Common Sense Conservatives supporting Rudy then the doom and gloomers will ever imagine. We want a leader who is optimistic and will stand up for America in the War on Terror. That man is RUDY IMHO! I am pro-life but I support Rudy more than 80% on the issues because I know he will appoint strict constitutionalist judges and hope to one day see the abortion issue back at the State level where it belongs. Gloves came off yesterday and ready for the fight!
Dear Southside_Chicago_Republican,
"He apparently didn't promote abortion as Bloomberg does, but the decline in abortions in NYC during his time in office seems to be more of a coincidence than anything else."
The cock crowed. The sun rose. Therefore, the cock is persuaded that he was the cause of the sun rising.
sitetest
I'm going to respect your opinion...but I still think, right now, it's a losing issue and it's not the most important one this country faces right now.
To paraphrase Dean Wormer, pro-choice, anti-gun and liberal is no way to survive the GOP primaries.
Bingo!
That pretty much sums it up. Of course, it's not unusual for politicians to go that route either.
Have you noticed how the Rudy bashers get really nasty? Doom and gloom all the way -- no wonder they won't support an optimistic candidate because they are so negative in their view.
Last night several of us decided to start a new movement -- we have fiscal conservatives and social conservatives so we have decided to call ourselves 'Common Sense' Conservatives!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.