Election 2008 | Clinton, Obama, Elizabeth Edwards Discuss Women's Health Issues at Planned Parenthood Forum
[Jul 18, 2007]

The campaigns of the three leading candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination on Tuesday at a Planned Parenthood Action Fund forum indicated a determination to reverse the Bush administration's approach to abortion rights, sex education and contraception, the New York Times reports. Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.) spoke at the forum, along with Elizabeth Edwards -- who spoke on behalf of her husband, former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.).

Clinton said that President Bush consistently has "played politics with women's health," adding that Bush "has chipped away at reproductive rights, and he has worked to turn Washington, D.C., into an evidence-free zone where facts are subordinate to ideology." Clinton also argued that the Bush administration had undermined and underfinanced education and family planning programs, while heavily favoring abstinence education. "I want you to know that when I'm president, I will devote my very first days in office to reversing these ideological, anti-science, anti-prevention policies that this administration has put into place" (Toner, New York Times, 7/18).

The three speakers also showed their commitment to appoint Supreme Court nominees who would uphold Roe v. Wade, the high court's 1973 decision that effectively barred state abortion bans, the Chicago Tribune reports (Dorning, Chicago Tribune, 7/18). Obama said that it is time for a "different attitude on the Supreme Court" and that as president he would not allow a return illegal abortion. "We've been there before, and we're not going back," he said, adding, "There's a lot at stake in this election, especially for our daughters" (AP/MyFox Chicago, 7/17).

Elizabeth Edwards said her husband "hasn't changed" or "wavered" in terms of his support for abortion rights. "There are times when compromise simply means capitulation, and this is one of those times," she said, adding, "Just as you can't be a little bit pregnant, you can't be a little bit deprived of the right to control your body" (New York Times, 7/18). According to the Edwards, her husband's health care proposal is a "true universal health care plan" that would cover "all reproductive health services, including pregnancy termination."

Responding to questions about his proposal for expanded access to health insurance, Obama said it would cover "reproductive health services." An Obama spokesperson said the proposal includes coverage for abortions. Clinton has not yet released her proposal for expanding health coverage, the Tribune reports (Chicago Tribune, 7/18). All the candidates on Tuesday also said they are committed to a "prevention agenda" that aims to reduce the number of abortions by reducing unintended pregnancies, the Times reports (New York Times, 7/18).