An unusually large contingent of female Republican candidates with strong pro-life views is heating up a social issues debate and could change the political equation in the next Congress.
-- From "Abortion An Issue in Senate Races" by David Crary, Associated Press 9/23/10
In California, Nevada, Delaware and New Hampshire, the GOP nominees for seats in the U.S. Senate are women who favor outlawing most abortions. All have been endorsed by Sarah Palin, who calls herself a "pro-life feminist."
A win by any one of them would fill a void. All 17 women now in the Senate, including four Republicans, support relatively broad abortion rights.
The four Republican women now in the Senate -- Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska -- vary in their stances on restricting abortion, but all support the basic rights established by Roe v. Wade, as do the Senate's 13 Democratic women.
Abortion rights groups plan to step up their work in California, hoping that publicizing Fiorina's opposition to Roe v. Wade will provide a boost to Boxer. Planned Parenthood affiliates have proposed spending $1 million on the race, while EMILY's List, which backs female candidates supporting abortion rights, is reaching out to women with mailings, phone calls and ads to highlight contrasts between the candidates.
To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.
