Dean Equates Abortion to Health Care

Sunday, May 22, 2005

Howard Dean got roughed up today on Meet the Press with Tim Russert . He once again said Osama bin Laden deserves a jury while Tom DeLay should already be in a jail cell, Democrats are the ones with moral values, and had the nerve to say abortion should be examined on a state-by-state basis.

Here is the exchange on abortion:

MR. RUSSERT: One issue where the Democrats seem to be changing their thinking is abortion. Here's Howard Dean on April 17: "I think we need to talk about abortion differently... Republicans have forced us into a corner to defend abortion..."

DR. DEAN: Absolutely. I'm not advocating we change our position. I believe that a woman has a right to make up her own mind about what kind of health care she gets, and I think Democrats believe that in general. The issue is not whether we think abortion is a good thing. The issue is whether a woman has a right to make up her own mind about her health care…

But when you talk about framing this debate the way it ought to be framed, which is "Do you want Tom DeLay and the boys to make up your mind about this, or does a woman have a right to make up her own mind about what kind of health care she gets…."

That's one hell of a health care plan for the baby -- I mean, fetus/bundle of cells that's getting a scalpel to his or her skull while being partially delivered.

We'd like to make abortion rare. You know that abortions have gone up 25 percent since George Bush was president?

And that number will decline when the people get to influence their own views of abortion once the seven-man ruling in Roe v. Wade gets overturned.

MR. RUSSERT: But...

DR. DEAN: We need to reduce the number of abortions in this country.

Which will happen when we outlaw it.

MR. RUSSERT: But, Governor, the problem for Democrats has been that many request abortion on demand. When there are attempts to say that there should be parental notification for children under 18-- to be notified with a judicial bypass, if there's a spouse--a parental abuse situation. Many Democrats oppose it. Third-trimester abortion, "partial-birth" abortion, Democrats opposed it.

The doctor completely sidesteps the rational legislation Democrats oppose so much such as parental notification.

DR. DEAN: You know what I'd prefer to see, frankly? I'd prefer to see medical practice boards around the country, state by state--because people do believe different things about this in different states.

Which is exactly why the national ruling of Roe v. Wade makes no sense. People believe different things about this in different states.

There are ethical constraints around the issue of abortion. There is no question about that. I think those ought to be done state by state. And I think doctors ought to have a lot more say about it than they do now.

Baloney! State by state standards on abortion can only happen with the reversal of Roe v. Wade. Let's see you push for it Dr. Dean. And you're right, doctors do have a lot to say about abortion now. It increases the risk of breast cancer in women and the chance of premature births in future pregnancies.