John McCain - Should Roe v. Wade be overturned?

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John McCain Roe v. Wade should be overturned. McCain Makes It Official

Evidence approved (11/27/2006 4:28:14 PM)

We seem to be having some difficulty accepting McCain's statements that he wouldn't overturn Roe v. Wade. Maybe it's because he really does want to overturn it. So let's try that out.

To support his so-called pro-Roe v. Wade stance, we see quotes like the following (from the Washington Post):

"I'd love to see a point where it is irrelevant, and could be repealed because abortion is no longer necessary," McCain told the Chronicle in an article published Friday. "But certainly in the short term, or even the long term, I would not support repeal of Roe v. Wade, which would then force X number of women in America to [undergo] illegal and dangerous operations."

But right after the above quote, the Post cites the following evidence that McCain is against Roe:

McCain has a long antiabortion record in his 17-year congressional career. He has said he opposes abortion with the exceptions of rape, incest and to prevent a woman's death. In a National Right to Life Committee questionnaire last year, he answered "yes" when asked if he supported the complete reversal of Roe v. Wade. He also voted to override President Clinton's veto of the ban on a late-term procedure called "partial birth" abortion by its opponents and in favor of continuing the ban on Medicaid funding for abortions, with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the woman.

In the vote-smart survey, he doesn't check the box to make abortion always or never illegal, but he does check the boxes to make it legal in the event of rape, incest, or danger to the mother's life. If abortion is not otherwise available, then there is no such thing, in his mind, as "choice."

Abortion Issues

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding abortion.

a) Abortions should always be illegal.
b) Abortions should always be legal.
c) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
X d) Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
X e) Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
X f) Prohibit the dilation and extraction procedure, also known as "partial-birth" abortion.
X g) Prohibit public funding of abortions and of organizations that advocate or perform abortions.
h) Other or expanded principles

As recently as last year, Larry King reiterated McCain's anti-Roe v. Wade position, and McCain accepts the characterization with hardly a pause.

KING: So you would appeal to liberals by saying you'd be a president for all the people, but you wouldn't cop out on, you're opposed to Roe-Wade, right?

MCCAIN: Yes, I am opposed to Roe v. Wade.

In conclusion, I think one might say that McCain is aware he can't push too hard on his anti-Roe v. Wade stance; but "should" it be overturned? At some point you take the man at his word.

Evidence approved (2/19/2007 9:37:08 AM)

McCain Makes It Official

MSNBC

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Republican presidential candidate John McCain, looking to improve his standing with the party’s conservative voters, said Sunday the court decision that legalized abortion should be overturned.

“I do not support Roe versus Wade. It should be overturned,” the Arizona senator told about 800 people in South Carolina, one of the early voting states.