Reports by NY Times, others on Giuliani reaction to abortion
 
Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2007 20:30:56 -0400


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<p><b>Reports by <em>NY Times,</em> others on Giuliani reaction to abortion
decision did not mention apparent flip-flop </b></p>
<p><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200704180008?src=item200704180008">http://mediamatters.org/items/200704180008</a></p>

<p>Several reports immediately following the Supreme
Court&#39;s 5-4 decision <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200704180008&http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041800710.html?hpid=topnews">upholding</a>
the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act
of 2003 noted Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani&#39;s <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200704180008&http://www.joinrudy2008.com/news/pr/155/" title="http://www.joinrudy2008.com/news/pr/155/">statement</a> applauding the decision,
but did not note the apparent
inconsistency between his April 18 statement and the position he took in 2000
against the "partial-birth abortion" ban passed by Congress in 1997.
Reports by Fox News and the Associated Press and posts on the political weblogs of <i>The New York Times</i> and <i>The Wall
Street Journal</i> all noted Giuliani&#39;s statement praising the court&#39;s decision while omitting reference to his previously
expressed opposition to the ban.</p>

<p>Giuliani stated on April 18: "The Supreme Court
reached the correct conclusion in upholding the congressional ban on partial
birth abortion. I agree with it." But in 2000, Giuliani said he <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200702080012#mtp?src=item200704180008" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200702080012#mtp">agreed</a> with President Clinton&#39;s veto
of the <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200704180008&http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=105_cong_bills&amp;docid=f:h1122enr.txt.pdf" target="_new" title="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200704180008&http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=105_cong_bills&amp;docid=f:h1122enr.txt.pdf
This external link will open in a new window">Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of
1997</a>, saying then --
in response to a question about whether if he, as a senator, would have
"vote[d] with the president or against the president" -- that he
would have "vote[d] to preserve the option for women." On the February 5
edition of Fox News&#39;
<i>Hannity &amp; Colmes</i>, when Giuliani
expressed support for the current law banning "partial-birth
abortion," co-host <a href="http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/people/seanhannity?src=item200704180008" title="http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/people/seanhannity">Sean Hannity</a>
pressed him about the apparent reversal. Giuliani attempted to reconcile his
two positions by stating that he
supports such bans only when they contain a "provision for the life of the
mother." But as <i>Media Matters</i>
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200702140004?src=item200704180008" title="http://mediamatters.org/items/200702140004">noted</a>, several federal bills banning
"partial-birth abortion" proposed from 1997 through 2000 -- including the one Clinton vetoed in 1997 -- also provided "an exception to save a mother&#39;s life who is
endangered by a physical disorder, illness, or injury." So,
while the presence of a life-of-the-woman exception was previously not enough to win
Giuliani&#39;s support for a
ban, such an exception is apparently
now sufficient.</p>

<p>As media critic and blogger Greg Sargent
<a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200704180008&http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2007/apr/18/rudy_i_back_partial_birth_ban_even_though_i_didnt_before_i_ran_for_prez" title="blocked::http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2007/apr/18/rudy_i_back_partial_birth_ban_even_though_i_didnt_before_i_ran_for_prez
http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2007/apr/18/rudy_i_back_partial_birth_ban_even_tho">wrote</a>: "[I]t&#39;s worth noting
yet again that Rudy&#39;s current opposition to late term abortion is a new
addition to his repertoire. ...We&#39;ll see if these inconvenient facts make
it into any of the press coverage carrying his statement." These facts were omitted from several April 18
reports that included Giuliani&#39;s statement after the decision.</p>

<ul><li>In an entry
on the <i>New
York Times</i> weblog The Caucus, Sarah Wheaton <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200704180008&http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/04/18/2008-candidates-on-the-abortion-ruling/">told</a> readers to "[n]otice
the differences between comments by Senator John McCain, a Republican who has
said he opposes abortion except in cases of rape or incest, and Rudolph W.
Giuliani, a Republican who has said he is personally anti-abortion but believes
women should have the right to receive one." Later in the post, The
Caucus reprinted Giuliani&#39;s statement without further explanation.</li><li>A Fox News article <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200704180008&http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266789,00.html" title="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,266789,00.html">stated</a> simply that, like 2008
presidential candidate Mitt Romney, "Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani
also said he agreed with the decision."</li><li>An Associated Press <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200704180008&http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/04/18/politics/p095244D23.DTL&amp;type=politics">article</a> reported that Giuliani has said
he "favors abortion rights" and "support[s] public funding of
some abortions." But while the article suggested that his
April 18 statement and his pledge to appoint judges like those in the majority
in the "partial-birth abortion" ban decision might be in tension
with his professed pro-choice views, it did not note that he appears to have
reversed himself on the specific question of a "partial-birth
abortion" ban: </li></ul>



<blockquote><blockquote>

<p>In a statement issued by his
campaign, [Sen. John] McCain [R-AZ] said, "It is
critically important that our party continues to stand on the side of
life."</p>

<p>The admonition seemed aimed at
former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney,
other leading contenders for the GOP nomination.</p>

<p>Giuliani favors abortion rights and
has drawn criticism for supporting public funding of some abortions. But he
says he would appoint justices very similar to Chief Justice John Roberts and
Justice Samuel Alito, President Bush&#39;s appointees. Both were part of the
majority in Wednesday&#39;s ruling.</p>

<p>Giuliani said in a statement that he
approves of the high court&#39;s action.</p>

<p>"The Supreme Court reached the
correct conclusion in upholding the congressional ban on partial birth
abortion. I agree with it," he said.</p></blockquote></blockquote><ul><li>An <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200704180008&http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2007/04/18/abortion-case-battle-lines-are-clear/" title="http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2007/04/18/abortion-case-battle-lines-are-clear/">entry</a> on <i>The Wall
Street Journal</i> blog Washington Wire stated: "We took [McCain&#39;s statement] as a swipe at former
New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has said he supports abortion rights but
has also said he would appoint &#39;strict constructionist&#39; jurists,
like Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. Giuliani didn&#39;t
exactly expand on his views, issuing a terse statement: &#39;The Supreme Court
reached the correct conclusion in upholding the congressional ban on partial
birth abortion. I agree with it.&#39; "</li></ul><table width="100%" style="background: #e8e8e8; 
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