In today’s paper I have a story that examines the depth of Republican gubernatorial nominee John Faso’s opposition to abortion. He reiterates his position that if elected he would submit a budget that limits Medicaid funding of abortions to cases of rape, incest or when a mother’s life is in jeopardy.
During an Assembly floor debate in 1987 Faso gave an emotional speech about the issue when he was a freshly minted assemblyman. Here’s the full text.
Faso has tried to downplay his conservative positions against abortion and gay marriage. The former Assembly Minority Leader believes this year’s election will hinge on proposals for tax cuts and economic revitalization. We'll see.
Errol A. Cockfield Jr.
Comments (5)
"Mr. Speaker, the Roe v. Wade decision in that instance, that we are asking today to legalize the Medicaid funding to allow it or continue the Medicaid funding of abortions, in my mind, Mr. Speaker, is something that we cannot countenance any longer, because Medicaid funding of abortions allows children who would otherwise be able to live to have their lives snuffed out"
There are also tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of tax paying New Yorkers who oppose abortion and their government is spending their money for something they find abhorrant. Government spending for matters of social conscience should be put to the people as a referenda and not simply implemented by our elected officials. It is undemocratic.
... After Farrell's attack on Faso boomaranged yesterday,Democrats don't want to talk about tax cuts so they are trying to change the theme to abortion; eventually Spitzer will have to talk about taxes!
There's pro-life and there's pro-life, you know? There's a big difference between a politician who's techinically pro-life but who flip-flops and tries like crazy to avoid the issue (Mitt Romney) and a pro-life politician-activist.
Faso is the latter.
Yeah, Democrats are bringing this up to make Faso look bad, but it's not like they're making anything up or mischaracterizing the guy.
Most voters in New York won't support Faso if they believe as Governor he will spark back up the abortion debate by rolling back abortion rights. A lot of them won't support him because they're pro-choice, but a lot more people who care very little about abortion rights also won't support because they remember how violent things got the last time abortion came back on the front burner. They'd rather have the status quo than hear more stories about doctors getting shot in Buffalo.
Errol,
just because he's pro-life he's not a bad guy. I'm a Dem and I see the "liberal bias" in your writing. Most of these accuastions of liberal bias are bogus, but you're playing gotcha
I don't like the hypocrisy of pro-lifers who claim that they don't want their tax dollars going to help women get an abortion because they're morally against the taking of a life. I'm morally against the taking of lives and yet a lot more of my tax dollars is going to take lives in Iraq and Afghanistan than is going to abort an unwanted pregnancy. Besides, it would take a lot more of my tax dollars to raise that child in poverty. I wish the pro-lifers would get off their high horse and think beyond the rhetoric and realize that "God is anti-war."