Copyright 2001 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.
Chicago
Sun-Times
January 03, 2001, WEDNESDAY, Late
Sports Final Edition
SECTION: EDITORIAL; Pg. 33
LENGTH: 811 words
HEADLINE:
Put lock on door to Bush's Cabinet
BYLINE: Steve Neal
BODY:
The Republican Party has a problem with
women.
President-elect George W. Bush is making it worse with his
controversial nominations of Missouri Sen. John Ashcroft as attorney general and
Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson as secretary of Health and Human Services.
Because of the GOP's opposition to abortion rights, Republicans are
losing the women's vote. There was a 17 percent gender gap in the November
election, according to exit polls. A woman's freedom to choose is the law of the
land. It was 28 years ago this month that the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade
that women, as part of their constitutional right to privacy, have the freedom
to make reproductive choices, including the termination of a pregnancy.
Ashcroft and Thompson would like to change all that.
If these
men had been nominated for other Cabinet slots, their opposition to abortion
rights would be less relevant. Bush, though, has chosen a couple of
anti-abortion hard-liners for the Cabinet positions in which they would cause
the most harm.
As the nation's chief law enforcement officer, would
Ashcroft defend Roe v. Wade as the law? Should Thompson be trusted to make
critical decisions on issues that could undermine a woman's constitutional and
legal right to reproductive choice?
Thompson's record on abortion rights
is shameful. As governor, he promoted and signed into law a dubious statute that
would have imposed life sentences on doctors who performed late-term abortions.
This law was overturned by the Supreme Court. Five years ago, he signed an
informed consent bill that denies a woman an abortion until at least 24 hours
after she has received a state-mandated lecture in person.
"I firmly
believe there are alternatives to abortion, and the dignity of human life must
be reflected in our policies," he once said. "That is why I have consistently
maintained a pro-life position . . . and have supported policies which fight for
the preservation of traditional family values."
If Thompson is
confirmed, he would be empowered to bring these "traditional family values" to
the family-planning clinics that are dependent on federal aid. He also could use
his influence to overturn the department's recent approval of the abortion pill,
which was developed in France and formerly was known as RU-486.
"The HHS
secretary oversees the nation's domestic family planning program, the FDA and
the office of surgeon general. The impact of an anti-choice HHS secretary on
these and other programs affecting women's reproductive rights and health could
be devastating," said Kate Michelman, president of the National Abortion and
Reproductive Rights Action League.
In his opposition to abortion rights,
Ashcroft is even more extreme than Thompson. Ashcroft would make abortion
illegal even when a woman has been raped or is the victim of incest. Thompson is
in favor of abortion in these instances.
Ashcroft wrote in 1998 that if
"I had the opportunity to pass but a single law, I would fully recognize the
constitutional right of every unborn child, and ban every abortion except for
those medically necessary to save the life of the mother."
If he had the
power to cut taxes or outlaw abortion, what would be his priority? "Outlaw
abortion," he told an interviewer last year.
Ashcroft was among eight
senators who signed a letter in opposition to legislation that would require
federal health insurance to cover the cost of prescription contraceptives. This
amendment was supported by the American Medical Association, the American
Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists.
But Ashcroft and his cohorts wrote in a letter: "We are
concerned with what appears to be a loophole in the legislation regarding
contraceptives that upon failing to prevent fertilization, act de facto as
abortifacients. Therefore, we believe this amendment is a precedent-setting
attempt to mandate coverage of other abortifacients."
As attorney
general, Ashcroft would be responsible for enforcing the Freedom of Access to
Clinic Entrances Act, which protects women seeking abortions from abuse and
harassment. Yet as a senator, he voted against an amendment that would prevent
people committing acts of violence at abortion clinics from
using bankruptcy proceedings to avoid paying damages, court
fines, penalties and legal fees levied against them as a result of their
misconduct.
This isn't the only time Ashcroft's judgment has been
questionable. Two years ago, he backed a referendum that would have allowed
Missouri residents to carry concealed weapons. Law enforcement officials warned
that this would make their state a more dangerous place. Missouri voted for
common sense and repudiated this stooge of the National Rifle Association.
Where did Bush find these clowns? Thompson and Ashcroft are the wrong
men for these roles.
GRAPHIC: Wisconsin Gov. Tommy
Thompson brings a track record of being anti-abortion to his new job at Health
and Human Services. ; ANDY MANIS; ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOAD-DATE: January 12, 2001 
