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Fred Thompson Says Life Begins at Conception But Opposes Criminalizing Abortion

Also says opposed to criminalizing "young girls and perhaps their parents as aiders and abettors or perhaps their family physician"

By Meg Jalsevac

NEW YORK, November 5, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Many conservatives have looked to Fred Thompson as a beacon of hope in the upcoming presidential campaign as Thompson has been largely considered the most consistently conservative of the front running GOP candidates on issues of life and family.  However, in an interview yesterday with NBC's Tim Russert on 'Meet the Press', Thompson declared that he would not run on the pro-life platform of the 2004 Republican Party that called for a constitutional amendment to protect all human life.

Since the early 1980's, the official platform of the national Republican Party has included a 'pro-life plank' which has advocated for a constitutional amendment that would offer  protection to unborn children.  The official wording of the 2004 pro-life plank that Thompson said he would not run on is as follows:

"We say the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution. We endorse legislation to make it clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to unborn children. Our purpose is to have legislative and judicial protection of that right against those who perform abortions."

While Thompson admitted that he hoped Roe v. Wade would be one day overturned because it was "wrongly decided", he said that he would not support a constitutional amendment that would outlaw the murder of unborn children.  Thompson said that the idea of such an amendment only "originally came out as a response" to Roe v. Wade.

To the disappointment of many pro-lifers and despite his campaign website's claim that his presidency would be used to "encourage policies that promote a culture of life", Thompson reiterated a clichéd justification of his position saying that he was personally opposed to abortion but that he thought that states should have the authority to decide if the killing of unborn children was to be considered legal or criminal.

"It is a dilemma that I'm not totally comfortable with, but that's the best I can do in resolving it in my own mind."

"I think people ought to be free at state and local levels to make decisions that even Fred Thompson disagrees with. That's what freedom is all about. And I think the diversity we have among the states, the system of federalism we have where power is divided between the state and the federal government is, is, is -- serves us very, very well. I think that's true of abortion."

In previous interviews, Thompson has publicly admitted that viewing the sonogram of his now 4 year old daughter reinforced his opinion that life begins at conception.  Known for his direct and often unforgiving method of questioning, Russert directly asked Thompson if he thought abortion was "the taking of human life". 

Thompson agreed that abortion was the taking of human life but he again tried to justify his inconsistent position saying, "[Y]ou can't have a law that cuts off an age group or something like that, which potentially would take young, young girls in extreme situations and say, basically, we're going to put them in jail to do that. I just don't think that that's the right thing to do."

Only several hours after his 'Meet the Press' interview, Thompson stated in a FoxNews interview that he "always will be" pro-life and claimed that his position is much more consistent than the other leading Republican candidates.

"My record is clear. One hundred percent pro-life voting record over eight years at the national level. The proof is in the pudding there. Go back and look at all that record. My whole career I have said Roe versus Wade was wrongfully decided. I've been pro-life all my career and always will be,"

As previously reported by LifeSiteNews.com, Thompson's pro-life credentials have been called into question before.  Despite a 1994 endorsement by the National Right to Life, Thompson has consistently rejected the idea of a human life amendment to the constitution.

Thompson did not attend the Values Voters debate that was held in September of this year.  The debate was held to provide an opportunity for the candidates to field questions and expound on their positions on moral issues - specifically those issues relating to life and family. 

Candidates Guiliani, Romney and McCain were also not present for the debate.

The touted pro-life candidate also disappointed pro-life Americans in September when he gave no opinion after being asked whether Congress' intervention to save the life of Terry Schiavo two years ago was appropriate. 

AP reported he responded, "I can't pass judgment on it. I know that good people were doing what they thought was best" and, "That's going back in history. I don't remember the details of it."

The Schiavo saga was extensively reported for weeks in US and international media. The intervention of Bush and Congress was considered almost unprecedented. Schiavo's painful court and police protected forced death by starvation caused anguish among pro-life and many religious leaders who were thwarted in all their efforts to stop it. 

Read previous LifeSiteNews.com coverage:

Fred Thompson Declares Pro-life Stance Before National Right to Life Committee
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jun/07061903.html

Major Republican Candidates Skip Family Values Debate
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/sep/07091903.html

Abortion Advocates Accuse Fred Thompson of Lobbying for Abortion
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jul/07070906.html ;

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