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Rudy Giuliani on Abortion and Birth Control
"The only way we are going to have common ground in this debate you are hearing is if we put our emphasis on reducing abortions and increasing the number of adoptions which is something I did as mayor of New York City."
"If Congress passed a federal ban on all abortion I probably would not sign it. I would leave it up to the states. I think the problem of Roe v. Wade is that it took the decision away from the states. If Roe v. Wade was overturned because it had been poorly decided, if the justices decided that, it would then go back to the states and it seems to me that that would be the answer. Each state would make a different decision."
"But ultimately, since it is an issue of conscience, I would respect a woman's right to make a different choice. I support the ban on partial-birth abortion. I support the Hyde amendment. But ultimately, I think when you come down to that choice, you have to respect a woman's right to make that choice differently than my conscience."
GOP Presidential Debate in California, MSNBC, May 3, 2007
Q: Would the day that Roe v. Wade is repealed be a good day for America? GIULIANI: It would be OK to repeal. It would be OK also if a strict constructionist judge viewed it as precedent and I think a judge has to make that decision. Q: So it would be OK if they didn't repeal it? GIULIANI: I think the court has to make that decision and then the country can deal with it. We're a federalist system of government and states can make their own decisions.
2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC May 3, 2007
I believe the best way we can have common ground in this debate that you're hearing is if we put our emphasis on reducing abortions and increasing the number of adoptions, which is something that I did as mayor of New York City. But I think ultimately that decision that has to be made is one that government shouldn't make. Ultimately, a woman should make that with her conscience and ultimately with her doctor.
2007 GOP Iowa Straw Poll debate Aug 5, 2007
Abortion is a very, very difficult issue of conscience for many, many people. In my case, I hate abortion. I would encourage someone to not take that option. When I was mayor of New York City, I encouraged adoptions. Adoptions went up 65%. Abortions went down 16%. I support the ban on partial-birth abortion. I support the Hyde amendment. But ultimately, I think when you come down to that choice, you have to respect a woman's right to make that choice differently than my conscience.
2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC May 3, 2007
Also expressing support was front-running Republican presidential hopeful Rudolph Giuliani, who in his former role as mayor of New York City took a strong abortion-rights position but has since modified his stance. In a statement Wednesday, Giuliani said the Supreme Court "reached the correct conclusion in upholding the congressional ban on partial-birth abortion."
I believe the best way we can have common ground in this debate that you're hearing is if we put our emphasis on reducing abortions and increasing the number of adoptions, which is something that I did as mayor of New York City. But I think ultimately that decision that has to be made is one that government shouldn't make. Ultimately, a woman should make that with her conscience and ultimately with her doctor.
2007 GOP Iowa Straw Poll debate Aug 5, 2007
Rudy Giuliani supports reasonable restrictions on abortion such as parental notification with a judicial bypass and a ban on partial birth abortion - except when the life of the mother is at stake.
Just this week, there were fresh news stories about Giuliani and his then-wife, Donna Hanover, making six contributions totaling $900 in the 1990s to national, state and local chapters of Planned Parenthood. The group is among the country's major advocates of birth control and abortion rights. The donations had been noted in financial disclosure forms Giuliani made public in the 1990s. As mayor in the 1990s, Giuliani also spoke at a national Planned Parenthood convention, once declared a "Planned Parenthood Day" in New York City and issued a proclamation honoring birth-control advocate Margaret Sanger."
AP, May 9, 2007
"There must be public funding for abortions for poor women. We cannot deny any woman the right to make her own decision about abortion because she lacks resources. I have also stated that I disagree with President Bush's veto last week of public funding for abortions."
"Q: So you support taxpayer money or public funding for abortion? GIULIANI: If it would deprive someone of their constitutional right. Yes. If that's the status of the law then yes, I would."
Q: You became very well known for standing up against the use of public funds for what many people considered indecent exhibits at the Brooklyn museum and places like that. Why do you support the use of public funds for abortion? A: I don't. I support the Hyde amendment. I hate abortion. I wish people didn't have abortions. Q: So you're not for funding at all? A: I believe that the Hyde amendment should remain the law. States should make their decision. Some states decide to do it. Most states decide not to do it. And I think that's the appropriate way to have this decided. Q: When you were mayor of New York, should the state should have been paying for abortion? A: That's a decision New York made a long time ago. Q: And where were you on that? A: I supported it in New York, but I think, in other places, people can come to a different decision.
2007 GOP primary debate, at Reagan library, hosted by MSNBC May 3, 2007
Rudy Giuliani's position on sex education is somewhat unclear. While he was mayor of New York City, Giuliani supported condom availability in public schools. Since he began his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, however, he hasn't spoken publicly on his views around this issue.
Stepping up his crusade against out-of-wedlock births, Mayor Giuliani yesterday used his weekly radio show as a bully pulpit to encourage schools to take a stronger role in teaching abstinence. "I think the schools should talk about abstinence," the mayor told a female caller who praised one of the major themes of his State of the City address this week.
NY Daily News, Jan 17, 1998