It’s been a long campaign season. The Presidential candidates have been whittled down to Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and John Kasich on the Republican side and Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders on the Democrat side.
For those people still trying to decide who to vote for, Raise Your Vote is hosting a recurring feature called Hot Topic in which an expert will break down each candidates’ stance on specific issues.
Today’s issue is Abortion and the expert is Prof. Claudia Halbac from the political science department of CUNY’s Baruch College.
Prof. Claudia Halbac, used with permission
The candidates fall into two camps on this issue: the Republicans are, with one exception, vocally pro-life, while the Democrats are pro-choice.
The exception, Donald Trump, has flip-flopped on this issue.
During the Fox News debate that aired on August 6, 2015 from Cleveland, Ohio, Trump was asked, “In 1999, you said you were ‘very pro-choice.’ Even supporting partial-birth abortion.”
He answered, “I’ve evolved on many issues over the years… I am pro-life.”
However, Prof. Halbac believes that, “there is no indication with any certainty what he will do [if elected]. I don’t know if he’s just appealing to his base or not. It’s hard to say.”
Prof. Halbac went on to say that for pro-life voters, either Cruz or Kasich would be good bets because they are “very certain” to remain pro-life in office as they have very strong records of their views.
At a Pro-Life Rally in Texas on January 28th, Ted Cruz said in his speech, ““Every human life is a precious gift from God and should be protected from the moment of conception until the moment of natural death.”
Meanwhile, at a debate held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on September 27, 1015, John Kasich said that “In my state we’re trying to figure out how to [defund Planned Parenthood, a major provider of abortions nationwide].”
For pro-choice voters, Hillary Clinton has been quoted on OnTheIssues.org as saying, back in April 13, 2008 that she thinks “abortion should remain legal but it needs to be safe and rare.”
Bernie Sanders, meanwhile, has a strong record as a senator of voting pro-choice. On his website, FeeltheBern.org, he says that he also has been “a vocal advocate for family planning and funding for contraceptives.”
Ultimately, Prof. Halbac says the power of the President to affect abortion rights doesn’t come in the form of legislation but rather in “supreme court nominations and executive orders, particularly the Hyde Amendment.”
The Hyde Amendment restricts federal funding from paying for abortion except in the case of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.
Prof. Halbac says that “our next president can, depending on their stance on abortion, increase or decrease the number of exceptions to the federal funding. For instance, President Bill Clinton expanded the exceptions.”