Giuliani's confusing abortion views
Statements, choice of judges confuse people on boths sides of the debate
By Michael Cooper
The New York Times
On the campaign trail, Rudolph W. Giuliani has made the case that while he believes that abortions are wrong, he thinks the ultimate decision of whether to have them should be up to women, and not the government. But he has also pledged to appoint the kind of conservative judges who might be expected to rule against abortion.It is a position that has confused some people on both sides of the abortion debate.And while Mr. Giuliani did not mention abortion at all in a 40-minute speech on judicial philosophy that he gave here Friday to the Federalist Society, an influential group of conservative judges, the issue was still very much on the minds of some listeners.
Mr. Giuliani told the crowd, “We’re seeking to find judges who understand the very, very important concept that judges exist to interpret the law, not to invent the law.” He went on to praise several Supreme Court Justices who had voted to limit abortion rights as models of the kinds of justices that he would put on the bench as president.Still, one member of the audience, M. Edward Whelan III, the president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, said he would have liked to hear Mr. Giuliani more explicitly oppose the Roe v. Wade decision, even if he supports abortion rights.“I thought it was a strong statement of the general principles that ought to govern the role of judges,” said Mr. Whelan, a former law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia, whom Mr. Giuliani called a model for the kind of justice he would appoint.“Given the mixed signals that Rudy Giuliani has given in the past on abortion, I think it’s unfortunate that he didn’t use this occasion to clarify his understanding of how those principles apply,” he said.
People on the other side of the debate are also looking for clarity. Kelli Conlon of Naral Pro-Choice New York, recalled that Mr. Giuliani had put her on his transition team when he was elected mayor and issued proclamations to mark the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. But Ms. Conlon said she was troubled to hear him say that he would appoint justices in the model of Justices Scalia and Clarence Thomas. “Obviously, judges in the mold of Thomas and Scalia are going to overturn Roe v. Wade, no doubt,” she said in a telephone interview, adding that her group was uneasy about Mr. Giuliani’s recent statements. “We really feel like, out of the glare of the cameras, we have to sit down with him and his colleagues and ask, which is the real Rudy Giuliani?"
(Continued here.)
By Michael Cooper
The New York Times
On the campaign trail, Rudolph W. Giuliani has made the case that while he believes that abortions are wrong, he thinks the ultimate decision of whether to have them should be up to women, and not the government. But he has also pledged to appoint the kind of conservative judges who might be expected to rule against abortion.It is a position that has confused some people on both sides of the abortion debate.And while Mr. Giuliani did not mention abortion at all in a 40-minute speech on judicial philosophy that he gave here Friday to the Federalist Society, an influential group of conservative judges, the issue was still very much on the minds of some listeners.
Mr. Giuliani told the crowd, “We’re seeking to find judges who understand the very, very important concept that judges exist to interpret the law, not to invent the law.” He went on to praise several Supreme Court Justices who had voted to limit abortion rights as models of the kinds of justices that he would put on the bench as president.Still, one member of the audience, M. Edward Whelan III, the president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, said he would have liked to hear Mr. Giuliani more explicitly oppose the Roe v. Wade decision, even if he supports abortion rights.“I thought it was a strong statement of the general principles that ought to govern the role of judges,” said Mr. Whelan, a former law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia, whom Mr. Giuliani called a model for the kind of justice he would appoint.“Given the mixed signals that Rudy Giuliani has given in the past on abortion, I think it’s unfortunate that he didn’t use this occasion to clarify his understanding of how those principles apply,” he said.
People on the other side of the debate are also looking for clarity. Kelli Conlon of Naral Pro-Choice New York, recalled that Mr. Giuliani had put her on his transition team when he was elected mayor and issued proclamations to mark the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. But Ms. Conlon said she was troubled to hear him say that he would appoint justices in the model of Justices Scalia and Clarence Thomas. “Obviously, judges in the mold of Thomas and Scalia are going to overturn Roe v. Wade, no doubt,” she said in a telephone interview, adding that her group was uneasy about Mr. Giuliani’s recent statements. “We really feel like, out of the glare of the cameras, we have to sit down with him and his colleagues and ask, which is the real Rudy Giuliani?"
(Continued here.)
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