"I think the ground is shifting in America, which makes it a little odd that the Republican Party would retreat at the very time that there is a shift," the publisher said. "And I think the reason for the shift is twofold. One is the partial-birth [abortion] debate, but also high technology in the form of what is your first baby picture often now -- it's the sonogram. So there is a shift, and I think that if we are patient and persistent, I think we can move the issue forward."
Steve Forbes: Republican Party Must be Pro-Life
Source of above quotation: Washington Times, 7/12/98
"...to all [these other problems] you can add the tragic 26th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, and the absolute refusal of the Republican establishment to talk about it, much less do something about it." -- Steve Forbes, CPAC, January 21, 1999
"Nothing is more important than teaching our children - and reminding ourselves - that a person's right to life is a gift of God, not the State. The State's job is to "secure" this right, not deny it.
Our Founders understood that God has endowed every child with the first and most important freedom, the freedom to be born. And the Democratic Party of old understood this, too. It believed the great duty of government was to protect those in the twilight of life, those in the shadows of life, and those in the dawn of life. What a sad and different time and party it is when a Democratic president can defend an unspeakable practice like partial-birth abortion.
Yet with the stakes so high, too many establishment Republicans are getting nervous again. They think it's a losing cause. They would have us walk away from it, drop it, leave it alone. Why, they demand to know, can't we just forget it and move on like the other party?
Well, because we are not the other party. We are a party of principle. And one day at a time, one step at a time, it is time to put abortion on the road to extinction in the United States of America."
--Steve Forbes, CPAC, January 21, 1999
Washington -- October 1999 -- Republican presidential candidate Steve Forbes' "first act as president" would be to ban partial-birth abortions, he told the Washington Times in an exclusive interview at his Alexandria, VA, campaign headquarters. His vow reflects a "sharp break" from his first campaign four years ago, during which "he declared himself pro-life with a proviso: that public opinion would have to change before banning abortions would be possible."
Pointing to the recent flap when the Miss American Pageant lifted its 50-year ban on contestants who have had an abortion or who are divorced, Forbes said, "It's a sign of the times. They made that proposal then backed off it. ... But the sign of the times is the reaction it got. It wasn't mildly or passively accepted." The father of four daughters said that if one of his own children became pregnant out of wedlock, he "would urge her to bring the baby to term."
Although Forbes said he and his wife have emphasized "Don't do it," he acknowledged that at some point, his daughters will become independent. "I can't force them. I can plead with them," he said.
Describing his presidential vision for America, Forbes said he wants an America "where life again is sacred"
Source: (Hallow, Washington Times, 9/29).