Planned Parenthood Wary of Giuliani

Planned Parenthood staffer Sarah Stoesz discusses the presidential contenders.

As the 2008 campaign season winds on, one of the more interesting subplots is the issue of reproductive health. On the Republican side, one of the major candidates, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, supports abortion rights, a position that puts him at odds with the majority of his party. And former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney took that same stand when he first sought office, but changed his position before the 2008 campaign began. With the Supreme Court issuing a recent ruling upholding a ban on intact dilation and extraction, also known as "partial birth" abortion, and recent battles over access to emergency contraception, the influence of the next president on issues of reproductive health should be significant. With that in mind, we've sat down and talked to local activists on both sides of the abortion debate about what they're looking for in a candidate and whether candidates like Giuliani and Romney represent a concern or an opportunity. This is the first in a series of stories about what leaders in the abortion rights/anti-abortion arena are thinking as we close in on one year before the election.

Sarah Stoesz, President of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, says that her organization is concerned about more than abortion rights.

"We want to look at a candidate's broad commitment to reproductive health care," she says. "If a candidate supports abortion rights but would not fund greater to access to birth control, that would not be a candidate we would support."

To that end, Stoesz says Giuliani is likely not a candidate her organization would back.

"Rudy Giuliani with respect to abortion rights has a mixed record. He was a supporter but backed away. We need someone who will stand up for reproductive health care. I don't know that we trust him on that quite yet."

Stoesz expressed more satisfaction with the leading candidates on the Democratic side. Noting that all major candidates were invited to address a recent Planned Parenthood Action Fund forum, Stoesz was disappointed that none of the GOP candidates appeared.

"That didn't send a very reassuring sign to us," she said.

She was much happier with Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., who both attended, and with former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., whose wife, Elizabeth Edwards, addressed the forum.

She singled out Clinton for praise, saying she "did come to address the group, and offered clear and unequivocal support of abortion rights."

Stoesz didn't foreclose on the possibility that Giuliani could prove worthy of support.

"We're keeping an eye on Giuliani," she said.

But she said that other Republicans were "strongly" opposed by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

"It's one thing to oppose abortion rights, but it's quite another to oppose birth control," said Stoesz, noting the general opposition to Plan B contraception by the candidates.