Election 2008 | Giuliani Discusses Donations to Planned Parenthood on Radio Program
[May 09, 2007]

Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R), who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, on Tuesday in an interview with radio host Laura Ingraham discussed donations totaling $900 he made to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its affiliates in the 1990s, the Washington Post reports (Shear, Washington Post, 5/9). Giuliani, along with his former wife, made donations totaling $900 to national, state and city PPFA chapters in 1993, 1994, 1998 and 1999 (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 5/8). According to the AP/Forbes, Giuliani in the 1990s also spoke at a Planned Parenthood convention and declared a "Planned Parenthood Day" in New York City (Sidoti, AP/Forbes, 5/9).

Giuliani during the interview said the donations were given out of a desire to increase adoptions in New York City through the counseling services Planned Parenthood offers on adoption (Washington Post, 5/9). He said he "support[s] the idea that a woman should have information about adoption" when she is considering whether to have an abortion, adding that Planned Parenthood "makes that information available." He added, "If there is going to be a choice, there are organizations that are going to give people information about that choice" (Brune/Gordon, Long Island Newsday, 5/9). He said, "My idea of a choice is that it should be a real choice and that ultimately, then you have to respect a woman's consciousness," adding, "I think life is enormously important but so is personal liberty" (Washington Post, 5/9).

Audio of Ingraham's interview with Giuliani is available online.

CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360°" on Tuesday included a discussion with Republican strategist Ralph Reed and Democratic strategist James Carville about Giuliani's donations to Planned Parenthood (Cooper, "Anderson Cooper 360°," CNN, 5/8). A transcript of the complete program is available online.