Herman Cain Declines to Sign Pro-Life Pledge
EmailABC News' Katie Slaman reports:
Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain declined to sign Susan B Anthony List’s Pro-Life Presidential Pledge, while the organization says five other GOP 2012 candidates have signed the pledge.
SBA List called on each GOP presidential candidate to agree to four specific anti-abortion pledges including only nominating pro-life judges and selecting pro-life appointees to key positions in their administrations if they were elected president.
Cain issued a statement to explain why he chose not to sign the pledge. He said he agrees with the first three parts of the pledge because he “adamantly” supports the appointing pro-life judges and selecting pro-life appointees to his Cabinet and the Executive Branch as well as ending taxpayer funding for abortions, but he had a problem with the last part of the pledge.
“The fourth requirement demands that I 'advance' the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. As president, I would sign it, but Congress must advance the legislation,” he said. “I have been a consistent and unwavering champion of pro life issues. In no way does this singular instance of clarification denote an abandonment of the pro-life movement, but instead, is a testament to my respect for the balance of power and the role of the presidency.”
SBA List announced at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans that Michele Bachmann, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Tim Pawlenty, and Rick Santorum signed the pledge. According to the organization, Mitt Romney and Gary Johnson declined to sign it.
“We applaud those candidates who did sign the pledge for vowing to support and advance the protection of life at all stages if elected to the White House,” said Marilyn Musgrave, a former congresswoman and Project Director for SBA List. “Their signatures demonstrate that mere lip-service to protecting women and the unborn is not enough—it must be backed up by concrete action.”
When asked about his position on abortion, Herman Cain has repeatedly said that he is “pro-life from conception.”
Cain gave a crowd-pleasing speech at the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans on Friday although he did not address the pro-life pledge.
“I have a dream, in fact I have two dreams,” Cain told the audience in New Orleans. “The first dream that I have is that in November 2012 conservative republicans are going to take back the house and the senate” he said to a roaring applause. “I’ve got another dream for 2012 and that dream is you are looking at the next president of the United States of America.”
Cain is expected to speak at the National Right to Life Convention along with other GOP presidential candidates in Jacksonville, Florida on June 24.
Susan B. Anthony List’s Presidential Pledge:
* One, only nominate to the U.S. Supreme Court and federal bench judges who are committed to restraint and applying the original meaning of the Constitution, not legislating from the bench;
* Two, select pro-life appointees for relevant Cabinet and Executive Branch positions, in particular the head of National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health & Human Services, and the Department of Justice;
* Three, advance pro-life legislation to permanently end all taxpayer funding of abortion in all domestic and international spending programs, and defund Planned Parenthood and all other contractors and recipients of federal funds with affiliates that perform or fund abortions; and
* Four, advance and sign into law a Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to protect unborn children who are capable of feeling pain from abortion.
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Posted by: George Washington | June 18, 2011, 2:11 pm 2:11 pm
Dear Mr. Cain,
I really thought I had found a candidate that I could support completely. Not a traditional politician with all the baggage most of them carry. Then I read that you will not be supporting the Pro-Life agenda. It pains me that as a Priest and a Christian that believes wholly in the sanctify of life I will have to rethink my position. I’m sorry.
Posted by: Father Phillip Edge | June 18, 2011, 3:42 pm 3:42 pm
Father Edge,
Please reread Mr. Cain’s statement. I, too, was distressed to see the headlines, but Mr. Cain makes perfect sense in rejecting the 4th part of the statement. He stated that he indeed would sign such legislation. Now is not the time to turn our backs on the most capable and committed candidates. I am a devoted Catholic and I have spent my entire adult voting life seeking true people of character to elect as leaders of my city, state, and country. They are few and far between. Those that claim we cannot “one issue” vote are delusional. Only the person who respects ALL life can begin to be trusted with our citizen well-being as an elected leader. God willing, may we someday have TWO prolife candidates that we can look to for solutions to the horrors that face our nation.
Posted by: irish gal | June 18, 2011, 4:24 pm 4:24 pm
Father Edge,
Yes, please reread Mr. Cain’s statement. Mr. Cain knows he cannot promise to sign into law that which the congress does not pass. We do not live in a dictatorship where the president has all the power. His statement shows me that he is adamately pro-life and he is also a man of integrity. How many times have politicians made promises they couldn’t keep? It makes me admire Cain that much more.
Posted by: Jarrod | June 18, 2011, 4:38 pm 4:38 pm
I was all for Herman and he is a decent guy ,however he also said he would appoint Muslims to his Cabinet that does it for me .
Posted by: Raymond | June 18, 2011, 4:42 pm 4:42 pm
Get Uncle Sam out of women’s underpants. Get republicans out of peeping up women’s dresses. Get the fascist big govt out of the private parts of citizens — they are called PRIVATE PARTS for a reason.
Life does NOT START AT CONCEPTION — it started over a billion years ago and keeps on rolling. 100,000,000 sperm die for every ejaculation and not every sperm deserves a name. A parasitic lump of flesh is a FETUS, NOT A BABY — there’s a lot more where that came from.
If god sends a pregnancy to the wrong womb by mistake, it’s only proper to send it back for re-assignment. That’s the smart thing to do — the stupid thing to do is keep it.
STOP THE ABOMINATION OF MARRIAGE OF CHURCH & STATE! — It is UNNATURAL and UNCONSTITUTIONAL!
Posted by: Liann | June 18, 2011, 4:53 pm 4:53 pm
Wow Liann,
For all of your protestation and bitter resolve, you might be missing a subtle point of logic. No one wishes to protect ejaculated sperm nor “lumps of flesh” because when the cells you cite are removed, they feel no pain. A fetus does.
The convenient omission of the physical torture ravaged on a “fetus” during abortion rather than simple precautionary measures to avoid pregnancy in the first place produced this warped mindset.
Check your logic and priorities.
Posted by: ian | June 18, 2011, 5:20 pm 5:20 pm
Raymond, Herman Cain was hammered in the press all week for saying he would NOT be comfortable with a Muslim in his cabinet.
Posted by: Jarrod | June 18, 2011, 8:22 pm 8:22 pm
Herman Cain is a pro-life ‘Baptist’, they don’t come anymore pro-life than that. As a Buddhist.. I am against abortion (againt killing anything).
I will not choose my President based on which piece of paper they sign. We are a ‘nation of
crisis’* at the moment, and I want a solid leader.
*Herman Cain
Posted by: Christine | June 18, 2011, 8:25 pm 8:25 pm
Herman Cain will sign it.
Romney and Johnson will not, and Gingrich probably won’t.
WE THE PEOPLE have two tasks…FIRST: Elect a House & Senate that will pass the needed legislation…SECOND: Elect Herman Cain to sign the blessed thing!
Herman Cain WILL GLADLY sign it if Congress passes it and puts it on his desk. And you can believe he WON’T use some damn ‘auto-pen’, either!
Get on board The Constitution Train – elect Herman Cain!
Posted by: J.R. | June 18, 2011, 9:48 pm 9:48 pm
People who support Herman Cain are just looking for their Republican version of Obama. Whatever happened to simply finding the most qualified people to lead the country?
Posted by: Mike | June 19, 2011, 3:38 am 3:38 am
I am not a Susan B. Anthony fan. They give money to promote abortion. So if there is something that Cain did not sign I think that he probably has done his research.
Posted by: Donna S. | June 19, 2011, 6:41 pm 6:41 pm
You know I have an idea–just an idea. Often when you hear a right wing Evangelical Taliban like Cain ranting on and on about the evil of same-sex marriage and needing to defend “traditional” marriage and so forth then it’s just a matter of months before they are arrested sexting inappropriate pictures to some young men on the local high school football team. I hope that Mr. Cain doesn’t turn out to be another “Reverend” Eddie Long. We all know this is becoming far too common for the hate merchants of the far right.
Posted by: Frederick Ferguson | June 22, 2011, 1:01 pm 1:01 pm
I’m sick of Obama’s policies He is not for America, or Israel He is all about power and his left agenda and wants to devalue our dollar and ruin our economy and has put us in trillions of debt. I can’t wait to get a President that stands strong on PRO Life & for marriage is between a man & a woman as Almighty God has designed it. He says in the bible that a man should not lay down with a man nor a woman with a woman..it is an ABOMINATION!! He wiped Sodom and Gammorah off the map because of this wicked behavior.
Posted by: Marie C. | June 24, 2011, 4:00 am 4:00 am
Mike,
I don’t think that anywhere near all of Mr. Cain’s followers just see him as a conservative President Obama, but rather we see him as someone who has strong beliefs, speaks the truth, and has a lot of experience in creating jobs and would be able to urge Congress to create a business-friendly climate that will gain jobs like the Reagan recovery did.
Posted by: Andrew | June 24, 2011, 10:36 am 10:36 am
Donna,
The Susan B. Anthony list does not support abortion, but rather it is the opposite of Emily’s list which is a very liberal pro-abortion group. Susan B. Anthony is one of the biggest organizations that is focused almost completely on making abortion illegal.
Posted by: Andrew | June 24, 2011, 10:49 am 10:49 am
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