From: johnt@meaddata.com (John Townsend)
Subject: Re: rights and responsibilities
Organization: Mead Data Central, Dayton OH
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 13:32:21 GMT

In article <lckg3tINNnv1@spim.mti.sgi.com>, mpolen@suntory.mti.sgi.com (Michael Polen) writes:
|> Larry Margolis) writes:
|> |> John Townsend) writes:
|> |> >
|> |> > It most certainly is.  You can't possibly think that if George Bush is
|> |> > reelected abortion will be made illegal.
|> |> 
|> |> Why not?  Certainly the Republican Party platform is anti-abortion - it
|> |> doesn't allow any exceptions for rape or incest.
|> |> 
|> Actually, the real problem is tht I don't know what to think.  George Bush
|> says he supports the Republican Party platform, and then says something 
|> else as well.  Also, I was under the understanding that the platform does
|> not even allow for abortions for rape or incest.
|> 
|> |> > the Reagan/Bush "packed" Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld
|> |> > Roe v. Wade.
|> |> 
|> |> Barely.  And Blackmun has stated that he's not going to hang on another
|> |> 4 years.
|> |> 
|> If you only counted the votes of the justices appointed by
|> Reagan and Bush, RvW would be long gone.
|> 
|> John must be prevaricating.  He can't possibly believe what he
|> posted.  Can he?

Sure can.  Anyhow, there are plenty of objective, dispassionate reasons why
Roe v. Wade stinks as a Supreme Court decision and should be overturned, even
if you think that abortion should be legal.  Certainly, the Supreme Court
should not be making the abortion policies of this land just because the
Congresscritters don't have the spine to take it on.  Speaking of spineless-
ness, here's another monkey wrench for your neat little view of the world
(from the Rush Limbaugh radio summary):

   Democrats believe that Clinton has always been pro-choice, but
   this is not true. Nancy Leebee, Executive Director of the
   Planned Parenthood chapter in Little Rock said that "we were
   never certain about his stand. When he began his candidacy for
   President last fall it was the first time as Governor he ever
   said he was pro-choice." As recently as the 1990 election
   gubernatorial campaign, Clinton made overtures via third parties
   to the Arkansas right to life groups.

   Pro-life groups have also been frustrated by Clinton because he
   refused to let himself be pinned down on a constitutional
   amendment banning public funding of abortion which became law in
   Arkansas in 1988. In a 1986 letter to an anti-abortion leader,
   Clinton said that he "was opposed to abortion and government
   funding of abortion." Clinton also stated that he backed the
   concept of the ban on government funding of abortion, but that he
   "had some questions about its impact."

   (Clinton did the same thing about the North American Free Trade
   Agreement. Clinton originally supported NAFTA, but backed off
   when he started courting Michigan auto workers.)

   In July, however, Clinton wrote a constituent that he "never
   wavered" in his support of Roe vs. Wade. This is not true -
   Clinton  became pro-choice only when he started running for the
   Presidency. Dee Dee Meyers of the Clinton campaign, though, said
   that "there's been an evolution in his position."

   Apparently Clinton is still evolving since he has stated that he
   opposes public funding of abortions, even though he also backs a
   national health care plan that would pay for abortions. Al Gore
   is in the exact same position - in 1986 he opposed government-
   funded abortions, but is now saying that a national health care
   plan must pay for abortion.

   Rush would prefer not to talk about abortion per se, but would
   rather concentrate on the matter of principle. If people are mad
   at George Bush's alleged lack of principles, then they are
   eventually going to be mad at Bill Clinton at some point, since
   he is the epitome of the artful politician.

Hence my conclusion that abortion is no more likely to be made illegal at the
national level under Bush than Clinton, but it's virtually guaranteed that
taxpayers will start paying for it under Clinton.

-- 
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