Posted on 08/19/2015 8:39:42 AM PDT by wagglebee
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 18, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) - Republicans most trust Dr. Ben Carson and Mike Huckabee to handle the issue of abortion, according to a recent CNN poll. However, a series of statements from Carson's campaign, and from Dr. Carson himself, have led to questions about the clarity of his pro-life views about when life begins, how RU-486 works, and his views on experimenting with aborted fetal tissue, among other issues.
On Tuesday, the Carson campaign defended his decision to refer women to abortionists if the child suffered from fetal deformities.
"Referring it on does not mean he is advocating it," campaign spokesman Doug Watts told Politico. "He’s advocating they are getting qualified medical supervision. He has always believed that the battle over abortion had to be waged in the hearts and minds of Americans, that you cannot legislate morality. But he also believes we’re winning the debate.”
Carson told the Baltimore Sun in 1992, “As a physician who does not believe in abortion, when faced with a patient who has severe medical problems, I would refer someone for an abortion."
"I would never advocate it’s illegal for a person to get an abortion," the doctor said at the time. "I think in the long run we do a lot of harm when we bludgeon people."
Carson made the statement the same year he participated in a study that examined tissues derived from two aborted children. While Carson played no role in harvesting or handling the tissue, he strongly defends medical experimentation with aborted babies, calling opposition to the practice "foolish." Rick Santorum has said he would never engage in medical research that was "morally suspect."
Recent misstatements also called into question whether he believes life begins at conception.
On August 12, Fox News host Neil Cavuto asked Carson, “At the point of conception - do you see that as life, Doctor?”
“Certainly once the heart starts beating - certainly at that point," Carson replied.
While he has said he opposes abortion without exceptions, he told Cavuto, "in cases of rape and incest, I would hope that [mothers] would very quickly avail themselves of emergency room and in the emergency room, they have the ability to administer, you know, RU-486, other possibilities, before you have a developing fetus."
Carson later said that he misspoke.
"I think when conception occurs, life occurs," he told Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday. He also told ABC's This Week program, "I believe that life begins at conception."
He said that his remarks to Cavuto meant to imply that both sides of the abortion debate would be able to agree that life begins when a fetal heartbeat can be detected - usually within the first six weeks of pregnancy.
When asked about "RU-486," he responded, "I think when conception occurs, life occurs. But I do believe in contraception."
"The egg is only fertilizable at certain times - and there are certain types of drugs, progestins, that can prevent ovulation...if ovulation doesn’t occur, you’re not going to have conception."
The Carson campaign later said Carson meant to speak of "emergency contraception," not the RU-486 abortion pill.
However, one of the world's foremost authorities on Plan B has said that it, too, acts as an abortifacient.
Dr. James Trussell, the director of Princeton’s Office of Population Research, wrote in 2013, "To make an informed choice, women must know that [emergency contraceptive pills]…prevent pregnancy primarily by delaying or inhibiting ovulation and inhibiting fertilization, but may at times inhibit implantation of a fertilized egg in the endometrium."
Dr. Carson is currently second in national polls of Republican presidential hopefuls, behind only Donald Trump.
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See ya later, Ben.
disappointed...
Drs. may have opinions on issues that they hold themselves too, but they must also practice realistic and legal medicine without imposing their political views on their patients.
Trip ‘em up, bring ‘em down. This is the Alinsky way. Get rid of the Big Threats before they hurt you.
A quote from 1992, 23 years ago, is barely relevant to the current position. Reagan signed the bill legalizing abortion in 1967. By the time he ran for President in 1980, a mere 13 years later, no one was doubting that he was pro-life and opposed to abortion.
I’m going to give Carson a pass on things from almost a quarter century ago.
That is not good.
Did it happen three years ago or twenty? Because I know many people who used to be “pro-choice” who are now pro-life.
Ben Carson is pro-life.
His stand and his statement of clarification satisfy me, and I’ve been ripped here on FR for posting pictures that are “too graphic” and offend the sensibilities of some here.
Abortion is murder. Pure and simple.
Carson is an advocate for life, and the way he handled it in a one-on-one relationship with his patients is not a problem. I do think he is trustworthy. I have little doubt his stand on abortion was known by the women he spoke to regarding their circumstances.
Dr. Carson has SAVED numerous lives—through surgery, education, and his medical career. Those who want to throw stones might stop and consider his record before letting a headline create the context in which they consider his candidacy.
Carson is still for giving abortion pill to rape victims and in cases of incest.
I think that when taken with his recent comments, it's very disturbing.
Which proves what I have thought all along. Although a great man who would be a great President, he is not ready to handle all of the trip-ups that the press would throw his way in order to make his most ardent supporters come out against him.
For the binary voters, a slip-up, a bad answer, a not well thought out response is enough to flip their binary switch from 100% acceptable to 0% acceptable.
It appears to me that members of the pro-life community are more intent upon being martyrs than winners.
EXACTLY. Many here on FR will never give anyone a pass for past failures...they are very judgmental that way and forget people can repent and change. Perhaps its that they do not fully understand God's grace.
I used to be pro-choice...and a straight party democrat. I voted for Dukakis in '88, Ann Richards in '90 and Clinton in '92. The Lord Jesus Christ changed all of that 22 years ago. By '94 I was more right-wing and pro-life than Rush Limbaugh.
And I am STILL more conservative than Rush Limbaugh.
I'm not going to automatically flush someone because of what they did 20 years ago...or even 2 years ago if they convince me they changed for the right reasons...
And neither should anyone on this forum. I would hope that people are more understanding than that. And those who give no grace should expect to receive none.
Dr. Carson is wishy-washy.
Last week he was defending his fetal tissue ideas. While he himself claimed he didn’t use the bodies of aborted babies for research, he didn’t see a need to BAN the practice.
Carson makes me as nervous as some folks get with Trump. His 2nd Amendment take is worrisome while Trump's worst take was "for certain assault weapons" before his sons started hinting - he seems to have come around nicely.
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