Carly Fiorina on Abortion

Summary

Carly Fiorina has described herself as "proudly pro-life."  On Roe vs Wade, she has stated that she considers the matter "settled law" and would not use it as a deciding factor for a supreme court nominee. She has stated that life begins at conception, and that she opposes federal funding being used to carry out abortions.

 

Wall Street Journal Interview

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in November of 2009, Mrs Fiorina stated that she is "proudly pro-life" and that she is opposed to the use of taxpayer funds for abortions.  An exert from the article is shown below:

On abortion, Ms. Fiorina says she is "proudly pro-life" and a strong opponent of taxpayer funding of abortions.

But her views also carry some nuance. She notes she created a strong program of domestic partner benefits while at HP. As for changing existing laws on abortion, she acknowledges, "I know, as a realist, that not everyone agrees with me. So the common ground we can find is how to reduce abortions."

 

Flash Report Interview

In an interview with Flash Report shortly after announcing her bid to run for the US Senate seat in California, Carly Fiorina was asked about her position on abortion:

FLASH: By the way, within about five minutes of this interview getting published, Grover Norquist will invariably email or fax you the pledge, so you won't have to worry about where to find it. Let's talk about the sanctity of life issue because people are characterizing your position one way and characterizing it another way, and I figure you could take a minute and walk our readers through where you stand on this issue.

FIORINA: Okay. I believe that life begins at conception and I am personally pro-life, except, of course, in the case of rape or incest or health of the mother. In terms of government policy, I believe we need to do what we can to reduce the number of abortions and I think we need to provide alternatives to women to abortion, such as, for example, making adoption more accessible.

FLASH: Would you say it's fair to say that you oppose taxpayer money being used to fund abortion procedures?

FIORINA: Absolutely. I oppose the use of federal funding for abortion.

 

SFGate

in an interview with the San Francisco Gate, Carly Fiorina stated that she saw the issue of Roe vs Wade as decided and was not something that she would attempt to overturn.

Two-thirds of the California voters who responded to a 2009 Public Policy Institute of California survey said they did not want the Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade, which established a woman's right to an abortion.

Fiorina said abortion rights would not be her litmus test for approving a Supreme Court nominee.

In November, while speaking at an event sponsored by the conservative magazine the American Spectator, Fiorina said she "probably would have voted for" Justice Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the court. Sotomayor has said she considers abortion rights to be an issue settled by the court.

On Friday, Fiorina said, "I do not believe where a potential judicial nominee stands on that issue is a qualifier or an unqualifier."

'A decided issue'

She (Carly Fiorina) added that while "many, many voters are going to conclude while that is a very important issue, it is frankly a decided issue," she said.

"The law is clear in the state of California, where there is a constitutional guarantee to the right to an abortion. So why are we talking about a theoretical issue?"

 

Campaign Website Statements

Carly Is Pro-Life

Carly believes that life begins at conception; she is pro-life. She earned an “A” rating from the National Right to Life Committee and has been backed by the Committee’s California affiliate, the California Pro-Life Council. Carly has also earned the endorsement of the Susan B. Anthony List, a national pro-life political action committee. 

References

[1] Website: Wall Street Journal Article: She Wants to Reboot California Author: JOHN FUND Accessed on: 06/22/2010

[2] Website: Flash Report Article: An Interview With Carly Fiorina, Candidate For United States Senate Author: Jon Fleischman Accessed on: 06/22/2010

[3] Website: San Francisco Gate Article: Carly Fiorina outlines her anti-abortion stance Author: Joe Garofoli and Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writers Accessed on: 06/22/2010

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