Rudy Giuliani's Stance on Abortion Could Drain Support from His Conservative GOP Base

With the 2008 election still more than 18 months away, Republican presidential candidate Rudolph W. Giuliani seems to already be alienating himself from many GOP faithful by what some see as a liberal - and until more recently somewhat ambivalent - stance on abortion.

Giuliani is pro-choice, and is seeking to court Republican voters in a party that is largely pro-life and has traditionally elected pro-life candidates.

GOP conservatives have been particularly skeptical about exactly where Giuliani stands on partial birth abortion - a position they believe he hasn't been consistent on - and about some recent campaign trail comments, which seemed to be an attempt at deflecting criticism of him about the issue.

"Our party has to get beyond issues like that," Giuliani said in Iowa on April 14, 2007, leading many voters whose decisions are closely tied to one's stance on abortion feeling offended, and thinking that overall he's trying to downplay the issue in order to be a more appealing candidate to everyone. 1

Most of the heat about Giuliani's change of position on abortion stems from the views he's espoused as early as 1989, and as late as 2000, where he was more outspoken in his advocacy of abortion.

"There must be public funding for abortions for poor women. We cannot deny any woman the right to make her own decision about abortion because she lacks resources. I have also stated that I disagree with President Bush's veto last week of public funding for abortion," Giuliani said in 1989, speaking about then President George H.W. Bush's veto. 2

And when questioned in 1999 about "whether he supports a ban on what critics call partial-birth abortions," Giuliani said "no, I have not supported that, and I don't see my position on that changing." 3

Giuliani reiterated the stance on NBC News' Meet The Press in 2000 when asked if he supported then President Bill Clinton's veto of legislation that would have made partial birth abortion illegal he said, "... I would vote to preserve the option for women. I think that choice is a very difficult one ... It's one in which people of conscience have very very different opinions. I think the better thing for America to do is to leave that choice to the woman because it affects her probably more than anyone else." 3

This seems to stand in contrast to the current position found on Giuliani's official campaign website, which paints him holding more of a middle ground on abortion. The website states, "Rudy Giuliani supports reasonable restrictions on abortion such as parental notification with a judicial bypass and a ban on partial birth abortion - except when the life of the mother is at stake. He's proud that adoptions increased 66% while abortions decreased over 16% in New York City when he was Mayor. But Rudy understands that this is a deeply personal moral dilemma, and people of good conscience can disagree respectfully. Ultimately he believes that it is a decision between a woman, her doctor, her family, and her God." 4

And Giuliani has more recently tried to emphasize his personal opposition to abortion, while simultaneously taking a pro-choice political stance. It's a position other politicians hold - such as Michigan's Democratic Governor, Jennifer Granholm, who widely espoused the same stance in her 2006 re-election campaign - in an attempt at taking a centrist point of view on what is usually an overwhelmingly polarizing issue.

In an interview with CNN's Dana Bash on April 4, 2007, Bash read Giuliani's own 1989 comments to him, and asked him his current views on taxpayer funded abortions. Giuliani reaffirmed his support for them, citing not depriving someone of their "constitutional right," and upholding the "status of the law." He continued and said, "I'm in the same position now that I was 12 years ago when I ran for mayor, or as mayor, which is: Personally opposed to abortion, don't like it, hate it, would advise that woman have an adoption rather than an abortion, I'll help you find the money for it. But, it's your choice, it's an individual right, you get to make that choice and I don't think society should be putting you in jail for it." 5

Most recently, Giuliani reaffirmed this view at a New England College Q&A session, in New Hampshire on April 24, 2007 when he said, "I think you can be personally opposed to it, hate abortion, respect somebody else's conscience who might make a different decision, and also believe that particular form of abortion is wrong." 6

It's this centrist view of abortion that Giuliani's camp insists he's always been consistent about. However, it's leaving a bad taste with many pro-life advocates that merely see presidential candidate Giuliani pandering for votes, double talking depending on his audience and trying to have it both ways on an issue which, in their view, seems unequivocal, and to some, downright illogical.

When asked by The New York Times about his opinion on Giuliani's abortion stance, a public policy spokesperson for the Southern Baptist Convention, Richard Land said, "To say I think it's morally wrong, but I think it's a woman's choice is like saying I'm opposed to segregation but it ought to be left up to the store owner to decide. That's a preference, not a conviction." 7

A similar analogy has been use by the Detroit area Christian radio talk show host, Bob Dutko. When on past shows, he's likened those who hold this seemingly contradictory view of abortion to people who would have been "personally opposed to slavery, but think it's fine for their neighbor to make up his own mind." 8

But no matter where anyone comes down morally on the abortion issue, the debate over Giuliani's stance has made at least one thing clear to GOP supporters, and by now, probably to Giuliani as well. The Republican Party may just not be ready to stray from certain base issues that have won them elections in the past, and what many see as the keys to keeping the GOP from drifting too far left.

Sources:

1- Todd Dorman, "Mid-Iowa Newspapers Capitol Update: Abortion could be Giuliani's Achilles' heel." The Ames Tribune Online Edition. URL:(http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=18221614&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554314&rfi=6)
2- You Tube member: 01fjjnk, "Giuliani on public funding of abortion." You Tube. URL:(http://youtube.com/watch?v=ALDfwXIYUX0&mode=related&search=)
3- You Tube member: iasoco08, "Rudy Giuliani on partial birth abortion." You Tube. URL:(http://youtube.com/watch?v=giZx5i3Ntv0)
4- Unknown author, "Join Rudy 2008 - On The Issues - Abortion."Joinrudy2008.com. URL:(http://www.joinrudy2008.com/index.php?section=2)
5- You Tube member: 01fjjnk, "Rudy Giuliani on public funding of abortion." You Tube.
URL:( http://youtube.com/watch?v=QZe1j4csMq8&mode=related&search=)
6- Liz Sidoti, "NJ.com: Newsflash - Giuliani Faces Skeptical GOP Voters."NJ.com. URL:(http://www.nj.com/newsflash/politics/index.ssf?/base/politics9/117746042273130.xml&storylist=politics)
7- Ray Rivera, "Giuliani Shifts Abortion Speech Gently to Right - New York Times." Nytimes.com.
URL:(http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/10/us/politics/10rudy.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5088&en=1d5b426d9c2657e4&ex=1328763600)
8- Bob Dutko, 103.5 FM, WMUZ, Detroit -The Bob Dutko Show -Various programs.