Sunday, July 28, 2013

Mary Landrieu’s Curious Position On Abortion

While the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill banning abortions 20 weeks after conception, the bill is facing stiff opposition in the Democratically-controlled Senate and, once again, the focus is on Louisiana’s Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu.

Speaking to The Weekly Standard, Landrieu said:

I do support, you know, the current constitutional outline which provides for decisions to be made which are very private in, you know, the early stages of pregnancy. So, I'm going to have to look at that bill and make a decision. I've opposed last-term abortion, but 20 weeks is midterm."
 What? While technically 20 weeks may be “midterm” just as 40 might be “middle-age”, at 20 weeks a fetus is more than capable of living on its own.

In the New York Times, Senator Landrieu whined that a vote on abortion was a “tough vote”.
“Look, I’ve taken a lot of tough votes,” said Senator Mary L. Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana, who added that she doubted she could support a ban at 20 weeks. “That’s what I’m here for, to take tough votes. And if we have to take it, we take it.”

Benjamin Clapper, the Executive Director of Louisiana Right To Life, tried to set Senator Landrieu straight when she informed the group that she was on the fence about the 20 week abortion ban.
"The babies at question here could live outside the womb," Clapper said. "They are almost completely developed. It is unfortunate that a senator from our pro-life state would have to think hard about this common-sense legislation."

Regardless of what color state Senator Landrieu believes Louisiana is (and, newsflash, we are a Red State), Louisiana residents are decidedly Pro-Life.
In fact, according to a Washington Post/ABC News Poll released this week, by a 56% to 27% margin, Americans favor banning abortion 20 weeks after conception.

So, the question remains, if the Democratic Senate Leaders allow for a vote on the House bill, will Senator Landrieu represent Louisiana voters or will she represent the National Democratic Party?