From the TIB Network:
by Matt Hurley
Those wacky kids at the Tax and Sue campaign are at it again:
BUSH-CHENEY AD FACT CHECKSo, John Kerry voted down parental notification. You can nuance it all you like, but facts are facts. Rationalizations are not the answer. Stand on your record and stop running from it, John. If you really believe these things are right for America, you should say so... You are against enforcing parental notification.
AD TITLE: "Family Priorities"
DATE: 7/15/04
BUSH-CHENEY CREDIBILITY GAP
President Bush: "I'm George W. Bush and I approve this message."
Voice Over: "When it comes to issues that affect our families, are John Kerry's priorities the same as yours? Kerry voted against parental notification for teenage abortions."
THE RECORD
John Kerry Supports Common-Sense Parental Consent Laws Which Help Protect a Young Woman's Safety and Well-Being. A young woman who becomes pregnant should always be able to turn to loving parents for advice and support. But John Kerry recognizes that there are any number of situations in which forcing a young woman to obtain a parent's consent before obtaining an abortion could put her at serious risk of further harm or abuse, increasing illegal and self-induced abortion, family violence, suicide, late term abortions, and unwanted childbirth. That's why both the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics oppose mandatory parental notification. And that's why Kerry voted for common-sense parental consent measures that encourage young woman to talk to their parents about options surrounding an unwanted pregnancy, but still make sure that the young woman's welfare and safety is protected by including broad exemptions for grandparents, aunts, and uncles to provide consent, the young woman's doctor to indicate that a medical emergency exists, a court determines that an abortion would be in the young woman's best interest, or a licensed or certified professional certifies that parental notification could put the young woman at risk. (American Med. Ass'n, Council on Ethical & Judicial Affairs, "Mandatory Parental Consent to Abortion," Code of Medical Ethics 1996-1997 Edition, 2.015 (issued June 1994); American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Adolescence, "The Adolescent's Right to Confidential Care When Considering Abortion, 97 Pediatrics 746 (1996); cited in NARAL Pro-Choice America, "Mandatory Parental Consent and Notice Laws Burden the Freedom to Choose," 1/22/03; Vote no. 130, 7/16/1991, S.323, amdt passed 54-45, Kerry: Yes; Vote no. 186, 9/11/1991, FY92 Labor-HHS Appropriations (HR 2707), amdt passed 92-8, Kerry: Yes)
Voice Over: "Kerry even voted to allow schools to hand out the morning after pill without parents' knowledge. He voted to take control away from parents by taking away their right to know."So, John Kerry voted down a parent's right to know what is going on with their child. You can nuance it all you like, but facts are facts. Rationalizations are not the answer. Stand on your record and stop running from it, John. If you really believe these things are right for America, you should say so... You are against the parents' right to know.
THE REALITY
John Kerry Voted to Allow Parents to Have More Control Over How Their Local Schools' Spend Federal Dollars. Contrary to right-wing insinuations, the morning-after pill does not induce an abortion; like condoms, birth control pills, and other forms of contraceptives, the morning after pill prevents a pregnancy before it occurs. Some local school districts have chosen to use federal family planning funds to ensure that young women, who may have been the victims of rape or incest and may not be covered by health insurance, have access to the morning after pill and other emergency contraceptive services through school- or community- based health clinics. John Kerry believes parents have more control over local school districts and voted to protect their ability to spend money as they choose and to prevent further erosion of a woman's right to choose. (Vote no. 169, 6/30/00, Fiscal 01 Labor-HHS Approps (H.R. 4577), motion to kill rejected 41-54, Kerry: Yes)
There is nothing untrue in this ad. The problem that Kerry/Edwards has with it is that it puts their candidate's views in the perspective that most American's would not agree with...your job as a candidate is to convince us that you are right. You and your campaign are failing...
If you read the release, you'll see that it ends with the usual "change the subject" routine that we are used to seeing from the Tax and Sue campaign. And they STILL won't tell us how they will pay for it all.
