Two candidates trying to woo the pro-life voter have made public statements repudiating their formerly stated positions of accepting abortions in the cases of rape and incest.
Five days before the Iowa Caucuses, I asked former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich how allowing abortions in some cases comports with his signature on the Personhood pledge. He told me he no longer holds the position his staffer had announced on November 28th (that he still supports killing the child when the mother was a victim of rape). He explained this in a phone call (see audio above):
“I sat down with the monsignor who was my guide and my teacher in joining the Catholic Church and walked through the church’s teachings and concluded that the correct position is that (and I always thought that life began at conception)…that the general exceptions should not exist even though it makes it harder to pass something and harder to get it into law….there was an evolution” (in his position).
Rick Perry also first announced a public change in his position earlier this week in a tele-conference sponsored by Personhood USA. He credited conversations that he had with the grown child of a rape victim, Rebecca Kissling, at the premiere of the movie, Gift of Life, hosted by Mike Huckabee on December 14th. In the call Perry said “Over the course of the last few weeks, the Christmas holiday, and reflecting on that–I would suggest that my pro-life position has been rather strong as the Governor of Texas–but she made a statement to me that was really profound and pierced my heart. As I signed that document, I will suggest to you that all I can tell you is God was working on my heart.”
Though it is up to the voter to decide whether last-minute conversions are sincere enough to merit their consideration as candidates, I welcome these two politicians to those who promise to stand against the killing of every unborn child.