Massachusetts’ leading pro-life group says it is supporting Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, while Brown is trying to distance himself from the anti-abortion wing of his party.
Since the firestorm around Missouri Rep. Todd Akin's comments about rape and abortion, Brown has been emphasizing his pro-choice credentials. Here’s his wife, Gail Huff, at a recent campaign stop:
Scott is pro-choice. Has been forever. He’s always been very, very clear about his pro-choice view. Like he said, he has two young daughters, 24 and 21 years old. He understands more than anyone that women have a right to make their own decisions,” she said.
So it must have been awkward when Massachusetts Citizens for Life decided to throw its support behind Brown.
Anne Fox, the group's president, said Brown's voting record was more in line with her organization's views. “What he has voted on so far, yes, it’s been pro-life. So we would prefer to see our people vote with Scott Brown,” she said.
Megan Amundson of NARAL Pro-Choice, on the other side of the issue, saw some irony in the situation: “This is the one thing that Massachusetts Citizens for Life and NARAL Pro Choice of Massachusetts do agree on — is that Scott Brown may call himself pro-choice, but in reality he voted pro-choice only 1 in 5 times.”
In the past, Brown’s votes have angered both sides of the abortion debate. In 2007, he voted to create a 35-foot buffer zone to keep protesters away from abortion clinics. But he also co-sponsored a bill that would require women to wait 24 hours before getting an abortion and be provided with pictures and information on the development of their fetus.
Brown isn’t rejecting Massachusetts Citizens for Life's support. But on the campaign trail, he maintains he’s a moderate pro-choice Republican.
http://www.wgbhnews.org/post/pro-lif...hes-pro-choice
---------------------------------
Missouri Rep. Todd Akin is still campaigning — and his controversial comments about rape are continuing to impact the high-profile U.S. Senate race in Massachusetts.
On Aug. 21, Sen. Scott Brown sent a letter to the chairman of the Republican National Committee, asking him to drop the anti-abortion plank in the party platform.
Peter Blute, the deputy chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party, said sending the letter was a brave move. "I think it’s very rare that a senator stands up and speaks against a plank in his own party’s platform."
But Megan Amundson, the executive vice president of NARAL Pro Choice, said the letter didn't go far enough.
“The letter doesn’t do anything. He’s been very clear the letter is all he’s willing to do. That’s he’s not willing to go to the convention to speak about for this or fight for this, that’s he’s not willingly to actively stand up for women’s rights,” she said.
Brown said on Aug. 22 that he wouldn’t be taking the abortion fight to the GOP convention in Tampa this weekend.
“I’m going down Thursday as I’ve always planned before this came up," he said. "They know my position. It’s up to others to join forces. The Olympia Snowes and Collinses need to join forces.”
In the past, other big-name Massachusetts Republicans did more than write letters about abortion. In 1992, then-Gov. Bill Weld delivered a strong pro-choice speech at the Republican Convention in Houston. He tried to launch a floor fight but didn’t have enough votes.
Brown’s challenger Elizabeth Warren has capitalized on this issue. All this week she’s been hammering Brown on abortion, contraception and equal pay.
http://www.wgbhnews.org/post/scott-b...not-far-enough