Pataki: Pro-Choice and Pro-Life

During the debate before the Big Debate, former New York State Governor George Pataki stood out not just for his views on foreign policy and welfare reform, but his stance on life and abortion.

Even though he is the only pro-choice Republican, he conceded a number of realities about abortion which have made even the  most ardent of pro-choicers rethink their views:

MACCALLUM: We want to get back to Planned Parenthood. And this question goes to Governor Pataki.

Governor Pataki, you're the only pro-choice candidate running. A Republican holding that position has not won a single primary in 35 years. With the recent Planned Parenthood videos that we have all seen, shedding new light on abortion practices, I know that you have said that you would defund Planned Parenthood.

Even the pro-choice governor wants to get rid of Planned Parenthood's federal funding. Finally! 

George Pataki (Source: Christopher Peterson)

PATAKI: Yes.

MACCALLUM: But has this story changed your heart when it comes to abortion?

PATAKI: My heart has not changed, because I've always been appalled by abortion. I'm a Catholic, I believe life begins at conception. But as Bill said earlier, Roe v. Wade, it's has been the law for 42 years, and I don't think we should continue to try to change it.

With the growing research into life within the mother's womb, science will trump the judicial ruling without any assistance from legal counsel. Mike Huckabee offered to bypass the courts and rely on the 5th and 14th Amendments of the United States Constitution to defend the rights of unborn children. US Senator Marco Rubio reminded voters that there is a document greater than the opinions of the Supreme Court: the United States Constitution.

Senator Santorum reminded his colleague-competitors, as well as the moderators and the audience, that he led a strong fight to push back against attacks on life, despite recent or previous rulings of the Supreme Court.

Now, to Pataki's credit, he recognizes that abortion is a tragic act. Even in the most difficult of circumstances, like rape or incest, we cannot ignore the taking of a life. The most ardent of feminists, Joy Behar of The View, acknowledged the terrible realities in connection with abortion.

But we can do is defund Planned Parenthood, and by the way, put in place an absolute permanent ban on any taxpayer dollars ever being used to fund abortions. Also, when you look at these videos, they are horrific and show just a hideous disrespect for life. What else we can do is that we should believe in science.

This is the argument which every Republican should carry across the country, in even the liberal bastions like New England and California. Republicans should not run from their pro-life views, and they are now setting the standards of the discussion once again. With the release of the horrific Planned Parenthood views, selling parts of unborn babies as livestock in an auction, otherwise disinterested voters and apathetic pro-life advocates are standing strong.

PATAKI: You know, Hillary Clinton's always saying how Republicans don't follow science? Well, they're the ones not listening to the scientists today, because doctors say that at 20 weeks that is a viable life inside the womb. And at that point, it's a life that we have the right to protect, and I think we should protect.

So, I would pass legislation outlawing abortion after 20 weeks. It is Hillary, it is Biden, it is the others who insist on allowing abortion well into viable (inaudible) wrong, and that should be stopped.

Pro-Life is winning in this country, and even pro-choice elements are conceding that they have to change their views, not the other way around. What a turnaround from 2012, when Republicans candidates were tarred with the "War on Women" for protecting the life of a child. "Legitimate rape" blanketed the television and air waves to beat down pro-life forces and candidates.

Today, those same interest groups, which include the vast majority of Americans, have learned to stop playing defense and go on the offensive against pro-abortion enthusiasts. US Senator Rand Paul rebuffed DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz about whether she would condone killing a child in a mother's womb. The Planned Parenthood videos (now five) have exposed the virulent, vile nature of this institution, and pro-choice elements, most of the Democratic Party, are hard-pressed to justify their abortion stance.

Pataki, the pro-choice Republican, sounded off with the rest of this pro-life colleague-contenders on that stage, and should be commended for it.