Free Republic

BUFFALO - Abortion opponents on Friday urged a Catholic college to withdraw its speaking invitation to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton because she is pro-choice. The Democratic senator is scheduled to speak at Canisius College on Monday on the government's role in caring for the sick. The address is part of the college's "Corporal Works of Mercy" lecture series. An aide said Clinton would not discuss abortion as part of her speech, and never intended to. Nor had Clinton considered canceling her appearance because of the objections. "She's absolutely planning on being there," spokeswoman Jennifer Hanley said. The Diocese of Buffalo...

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is staking out centrist positions on values issues that helped decide last year's presidential election, positioning herself to the right of her party's base on abortion, faith-based initiatives and immigration. In the past few weeks, the New York Democrat has embraced the role of religion in addressing social ills, decried abortion as "sad, even tragic" and complained about the influx of illegal aliens — all stances that run counter to liberal party leaders, but which are popular among voters. "I think what we're seeing is, at least rhetorically, the attempt of the ultimate makeover," said Gary...

HILLARY MODIFIES ABORTION LANGUAGE Proposing new political language about abortion rights for an increasingly skittish Democratic Party, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that friends and foes on the issue should come together on "common ground" to reduce the number of "unwanted pregnancies" and ultimately abortions, which she called a "sad, even tragic choice to many, many women." Clinton, in a speech to about 1,000 abortion rights supporters at the state Capitol, firmly restated her support for Roe v. Wade. But then she offered warm words to opponents of abortion and said that faith and organized religion were the "primary"...