Full transcript of Bush/Kerry exchange on abortion

This is long, but it illustrates the differences between the two men.

GIBSON: Going to go to the final two questions now, and the first one will be for Senator Kerry. And this comes from Sarah Degenhart.

DEGENHART: Senator Kerry, suppose you are speaking with a voter who believed abortion is murder and the voter asked for reassurance that his or her tax dollars would not go to support abortion, what would you say to that person?

KERRY: I would say to that person exactly what I will say to you right now.

First of all, I cannot tell you how deeply I respect the belief about life and when it begins. I'm a Catholic, raised a Catholic. I was an altar boy. Religion has been a huge part of my life. It helped lead me through a war, leads me today.

But I can't take what is an article of faith for me and legislate it for someone who doesn't share that article of faith, whether they be agnostic, atheist, Jew, Protestant, whatever. I can't do that.

But I can counsel people. I can talk reasonably about life and about responsibility. I can talk to people, as my wife Teresa does, about making other choices, and about abstinence, and about all these other things that we ought to do as a responsible society.

KERRY: But as a president, I have to represent all the people in the nation. And I have to make that judgment.

Now, I believe that you can take that position and not be pro- abortion, but you have to afford people their constitutional rights. And that means being smart about allowing people to be fully educated, to know what their options are in life, and making certain that you don't deny a poor person the right to be able to have whatever the constitution affords them if they can't afford it otherwise.

That's why I think it's important. That's why I think it's important for the United States, for instance, not to have this rigid ideological restriction on helping families around the world to be able to make a smart decision about family planning.

You'll help prevent AIDS.

KERRY: You'll help prevent unwanted children, unwanted pregnancies.

You'll actually do a better job, I think, of passing on the moral responsibility that is expressed in your question. And I truly respect it.

GIBSON: Mr. President, minute and a half.

BUSH: I'm trying to decipher that.

My answer is, we're not going to spend taxpayers' money on abortion.

This is an issue that divides America, but certainly reasonable people can agree on how to reduce abortions in America.

I signed the partial-birth -- the ban on partial-birth abortion. It's a brutal practice. It's one way to help reduce abortions. My opponent voted against the ban.

I think there ought to be parental notification laws. He's against them.

I signed a bill called the Unborn Victims of Violence Act.

BUSH: In other words, if you're a mom and you're pregnant and you get killed, the murderer gets tried for two cases, not just one. My opponent was against that.

These are reasonable ways to help promote a culture of life in America. I think it is a worthy goal in America to have every child protected by law and welcomed in life.

I also think we ought to continue to have good adoption law as an alternative to abortion.

And we need to promote maternity group homes, which my administration has done.

Culture of life is really important for a country to have if it's going to be a hospitable society.

Thank you.

GIBSON: Senator, do you want to follow up? Thirty seconds.

KERRY: Well, again, the president just said, categorically, my opponent is against this, my opponent is against that. You know, it's just not that simple. No, I'm not.

I'm against the partial-birth abortion, but you've got to have an exception for the life of the mother and the health of the mother under the strictest test of bodily injury to the mother.

KERRY: Secondly, with respect to parental notification, I'm not going to require a 16-or 17-year-old kid who's been raped by her father and who's pregnant to have to notify her father. So you got to have a judicial intervention. And because they didn't have a judicial intervention where she could go somewhere and get help, I voted against it. It's never quite as simple as the president wants you to believe.

GIBSON: And 30 seconds, Mr. President.

BUSH: Well, it's pretty simple when they say: Are you for a ban on partial birth abortion? Yes or no?

And he was given a chance to vote, and he voted no. And that's just the way it is. That's a vote. It came right up. It's clear for everybody to see. And as I said: You can run but you can't hide the reality.

GIBSON: And the final question of the evening will be addressed to President Bush and it will come from Linda Grabel. Linda Grabel's over here.

Comments

[bk]

I really wish that Bush could have had the opportunity to really pursue this. Kerry said that he supported "making certain that you don't deny a poor person the right to be able to have whatever the constitution affords them if they can't afford it otherwise."

Applying that logic to a right that actually *is* in the constitution, would a Kerry administration provide money for gun purchases among the poor?

Then he seemed to argue that the US should fund abortion around the world, because Americans had the right?

The best part was this line: "You'll actually do a better job, I think, of *passing* on the moral responsibility that is expressed in your question."

It is true that his argument supports *passing* on moral responsibility, but I would bet he tried to say *passing on*.

[Mark Brumley]

Bush did *okay* on the point. However, he could have done better by replying to Kerry's "I can't impose my religion on others" argument. Bush should have said, "Senator Kerry is a Catholic and he says he is personally opposed to abortion. I'm a Methodist, and I oppose abortion. There are Jews, Muslims, agnostics and atheists who oppose abortion. How can Senator Kerry claim that opposition to abortion is a religious issue, when there are people of different religions and even no religion who oppose abortion?

[Carl Olson]

Kerry says: "But I can counsel people." Wow. Is that really the job of the President? Apparently so in the "I own you from birth to death" worldview of certain politicians on a certain end of the political spectrum. Creepy.

[John Herreid]

I think it's interesting that Kerry thinks that the only way to represent the American people, who are split between pro-life and pro-choice, is to be on the pro-choice side.

[Paul]

First of all, I really like all the above comments. Particularly, John's comment stuck out in my mind as well. Secondly, Kerry turned a short answer into a long lecture. Below is an interpretation of the question/answer, and illustrates why Kerry simply isn't living the Catholic faith he was born into.

question: Will you use taxpayers money to fund abortion?
answer: I will, and I believe that all people around the world deserve birth control funded by American taxes as well.

[Faith]

Years ago, someone had written an article regarding denying the poor the "right" to abortion as spin being put on the actual message, which was to discourage the "undesirable" population from having babies and growing. Of all the women I know who were brutally raped, the only one that became pregnant kept her baby. However, all the women I know who have had abortions didso because having a baby would be an inconvenience. By using the poor and victims of rape as the "reasons" to allow abortion on demand, pro-abortionists have created a sympathetic,caring facade, when they are actually victimizing these women all over again.

[Billy]

First of all,

Lt. Commander Worf: Anomylous sensor readings dead ahead captain, shall I raise shields?

I cannot tell you how deeply I respect the belief about life and when it begins.

Lt. Commander Worf: Romulan Warbirds decloaking off the port bow!

Commander Riker: Shields!

Captain Picard: Hail them!

I'm a Catholic, raised a Catholic.

--RED ALERT-- --RED ALERT-- --RED ALERT--

I was an altar boy.

Lt. Commander Worf: Romulans are charging weapons and forming attack posture!

Captain Picard: All hands to battlestations! Ready Phasors! Arm Photon Torpedoes.

Religion has been a huge part of my life

Lt. Commander Worf: Warbirds have fired plasma weapons!

Captain Picard: All hands, brace for impact!

It helped lead me through a war,

KABOOM!

leads me today.

Lt. Commander Worf: Direct hit! Life support failing on all decks!

Captain Picard: All hands abandon ship! All hands abandon ship!

[Carl Olson]

LOL. "Billy is a Trekkie! Billy is a Trekkie!"

[Mark Brumley]

I believe the term of art is "Trekker."

[Fr Phil Bloom]

Thanks for posting this, Mark. Also for the other posts regarding embryonic stem cell research. And to all for the various comments. You inspired me to address this in my homily. Blessings to all.

[Nancy B.]

Good discussion. My main frustration with Kerry's answer and basically all of his talk is he rarely answers the questions asked, just more rhetoric comes out of his mouth, more prepared speach bites, nothing of substance, certainly no thought.
And his hair, wow. I thought his hair was particularly well styled last night.
And he was slick. He's practiced. He's been coached really well, and he's a fast learner. He's so slick the words "Slick Willie" came to mind, I don't know why!

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