Texas Gov. Rick Perry touts abortion opposition at Austin rally
By Christy Hoppe The Dallas Morning News February 24, 2009 AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry greeted several hundred anti-abortion activists rallying outside the Capitol by promising to prevent embryonic stem cell research in Texas and touting his record for passing more restrictions on the procedure than any previous Texas governor. The governor and other GOP leaders, with an eye toward 2010 elections, eagerly touted their opposition to abortion and their support of further restrictions before a crowd that represents a solid activist base in the March Republican primaries next year. Perry peppered his speech with barbs at Washington, citing President Barack Obama’s likelihood of ending a ban on federal dollars for embryonic stem cells research and his lifting the prohibition against doctors discussing abortions in medical programs that receive American foreign aid. His likely Republican primary opponent next year, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, has supported allowing embryonic stem cell research. Without using her name, Perry railed against Washington and its “misplaced priorities,” saying the issue was as basic as “Do you value life?” “As long as I am governor of the great state of Texas, I will oppose our taxpayers’ dollars from being spent on research that ends human life,” he said. Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst told the crowd that Ronald Reagan is “a long-time hero of mine and probably of yours” and he quoted the former president to say government should work to protect human life. Dewhurst said legislation he supports this session is aimed at women seeking abortions, to “give her a reason to stop and think.” Attorney General Greg Abbott also addressed the rally. The major anti-abortion bill this session would mandate that doctors make an ultrasound and heartbeat monitor available to women before they undergo abortions. At a news conference, an eight-week pregnant woman was hooked up to a sonogram and a video of her fetus was projected onto a screen. Viewers could distinguish the head and the undefined developing body of the 1.6-centimeter fetus. “It’s not a mass of tissue. It’s a human life,” said Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, author of the Senate bill. Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, said the state already requires women wait 24 hours and read some questionable material regarding abortion procedures. She said it should not impose itself even further between a woman and her doctor. “Medical procedures are best left to people in the medical profession and not someone with a political agenda,” Farrar said. “This is designed to guilt and coerce a woman into a pregnancy that she might not be prepared for.” The House Democratic caucus leader also said that if the same anti-abortion leaders would support broader sex education – instead of abstinence only – fewer abortions would be contemplated. “If the right-to-life groups would try to prevent more unwanted pregnancies, we wouldn’t be in this position,” she said.
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