By Hillary Clinton
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, D, holds a moderate stance on abortion but regularly acknowledges the right of a woman to choose what course of action she takes in the aftermath of an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy. She is strongly in favor of making both contraception and adoptions more accessible options for women so that abortions are not as widely needed. She believes that abortions are a “tragic” circumstance women fall into when there are not sufficient alternatives put in place to follow family planning.
“This decision, which is one of the most fundamental, difficult, and soul-searching decisions a woman and a family can make, is also one in which the government should have no role. I believe we can all recognize that abortion in many ways represents a sad, even tragic choice to many women. Often, it’s a failure of our system of education, and preventive services. It’s often a result of family dynamics. This decision is a profound and complicated one; a difficult one, often the most difficult that a woman will ever make. The fact is that the best way to reduce the number of abortions is to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies in the first place.”
Bernie Sanders
Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, running as a democrat, has spent his political career as a pro-choice campaigner, supporting access to abortions, family planning services and contraceptives. He supports a woman’s right to choice regardless of circumstance or socio-economic standing. He has also said that the issue of abortion is one for a woman and medical professionals to discuss, not government officials.
“We are not returning to the days of back-room abortions, when countless women died or were maimed. The decision about abortion must remain a decision for the woman, her family and physician to make, not the government.”
Miranda Andrade-Ceja
Donald Trump
Donald Trump, R, has a history of supporting pro-choice measures and used to self-identify as a pro-choice, but changed positions in 2011 to support pro-life, anti-abortion movements. Where he once said a woman has the right to choose, he now supports bans on abortions except in the cases of rape, incest or health-related challenges after seeing real-life examples of what avoiding abortion can do for families and their children.
“One thing about me, I’m a very honorable guy. I’m pro-life, but I changed my view a number of years ago. One of the primary reasons I changed [was] a friend of mine’s wife was pregnant, and he didn’t really want the baby. He was crying as he was telling me the story. He ends up having the baby and the baby is the apple of his eye. It’s the greatest thing that’s ever happened to him. And you know here’s a baby that wasn’t going to be let into life. And I heard this, and some other stories, and I am pro-life.”
Ted Cruz
Junior Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, strongly opposes both abortion and Planned Parenthood, and has said he would like to both defund and criminally prosecute Planned Parenthood for “selling the body parts” of aborted fetuses to outside organizations. He said that the Roe v. Wade court case is a “dark anniversary” in American history and believes insurance providers can and should deny coverage for contraception based on personal viewpoints.
“The Planned Parenthood videos are horrifying. I encourage every American to watch them. Seeing Planned Parenthood heartlessly bartering and selling the body parts of human beings, and then ask yourself, ‘are these my values?’ Planned Parenthood essentially confesses to multiple felonies. It is a felony with ten years’ jail term to sell the body parts of unborn children for profit. That’s what these videos [show]. We shouldn’t send $500 million of taxpayer money to fund an ongoing criminal enterprise.”
Marco Rubio
Marco Rubio, R, believes that abortion is a complex issue that pulls a woman’s right to choose into direct conflict with a fetus’s right to live. He has said that he will always “err on the side of life,” but does acknowledge the legal rights a woman is allowed as of now. He would strongly support any form of legislation that reduces the allowance of abortions, protects religiously-affiliated organizations from providing insurance coverage for contraception or prohibits public funding for abortion.
“What I have advocated is that we pass law in this country that says all human life at every stage of its development is worthy of protection. In fact, I think that law already exists. It is called the Constitution of the United States. And let me go further. I believe that every single human being is entitled to the protection of our laws, whether they can vote or not. Whether they can speak or not. Whether they can hire a lawyer or not. Whether they have a birth certificate or not. And I think future generations will look back at this history of our country and call us barbarians for murdering millions of babies who we never gave them a chance to live.”
Miranda Andrade-Ceja
John Kasich
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, R, opposes abortions except in the case of pregnancies caused by rape or incest, or if the life of the mother is put in direct risk by the pregnancy. Though his personal opinions are staunch, he finds it “reasonable” to acknowledge severe circumstances that would necessitate abortion. He would actively try to defund Planned Parenthood and has made efforts in his home state to see that motion through.
“I think Planned Parenthood ought to be defunded, no question about it. We’re doing everything we can in Ohio to figure out how to get that done. Although, if you’re going to shut the government down, you’re never going to get anything signed by the president because he’s in total opposition. So you’d shut the government down, and then over time you’d have to open it back up again and you wouldn’t have achieved much. So I think there other ways for Congress to deal with this. In this case, the President’s made it clear that he’s not going to sign it. Now I’m willing to fight all day long, but you’ve got to have a good prospect of being able to be successful because if you’re not successful, you haven’t achieved anything, you’re going to have people shake their heads and wonder what your thinking was.”
*This article is part of a weekly series informing students of where candidates stand on the issues for the 2016 presidential elections.
**All information comes from Ontheissues.org, a nonprofit that keeps track of candidate voting records and public statements.
