Steve Forbes Airs Pro-Life Ad

WASHINGTON -- January, 2000 -- Appealing to Iowa pro-life advocates, Steve Forbes is airing a new ad on abortion.

The text of the ad is as follows:

Mother #1: "When I saw my child's ultrasound...I mean, there was my tiny child's heart beating, arms waving... I remember thinking, what would she grow up to be?"

Mother #2: "If someone kills a pet it's called a crime, if someone aborts a child it's called a choice"

Mother #1: "I mean, just because someone doesn't want them, doesn't mean that these children aren't still alive."

Steve Forbes: "I want to protect the rights of all Americans, including the unborn, but I need your support to make this happen."

This is Forbes' first television ad on abortion during the campaign, though he has produced campaign literature discussing his pro-life views and has frequently made abortion an issue in the campaign.

In a Republican debate Monday, Forbes challenged Bush to promise that if he is the GOP nominee he will pick a pro-life running mate, appoint only pro-life judges and preserve the p[ro-life plank in the Republican platform.

"I'm going to pick a vice president who can be the president. I'll pick judges who strictly interpret the Constitution and not use the bench ... to legislate. And I will ... work to keep the Republican Party pro-life," Bush said.

"It demonstrates Forbes' commitment to the pro-life cause," said Keith Appell, a Forbes spokesman. "He will use the bully pulpit to advance this issue forward."

Forbes campaign officials said the ad would run across Iowa in a "substantial buy." An official from a rival campaign said Forbes was spending enough so that the typical viewer would see the abortion ad five times over the next week.

Forbes spokesman Greg Mueller called the pro-life pitch "the way you get to the heart and soul of the Republican Party," particularly the kind of voters "who turn out in primaries and caucuses. This ad will move people emotionally.

Bush strategist Stuart Stevens said Forbes's attack would not hurt his candidate, saying that "Governor Bush has consistently stated his position" of opposing abortion.

Meanwhile, a recent Wall Street Journal interview asked Mr. Forbes: What has been the U.S. political system's greatest failure? Forbes answered, "The Roe v. Wade decision that has doomed more than 35 million unborn children to death."


Source: The Pro-Life Infonet (you can make a donation to: Women and Children First, PO Box 4433, Helena, MT 59604-4433.)


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