Giuliani Fields Questions About His Position On Social Issues After Release Of 1989 Video Showing His Support For Publicly Funded Abortions

Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R), who has formed a presidential exploratory committee, on Monday fielded questions about his positions on social issues, including abortion, after a video clip surfaced showing him supporting publicly funded abortions during a speech in 1989, the Washington Post reports. The video clip -- posted Monday on YouTube and highlighted by the Drudge Report -- shows Giuliani saying that "there must be public funding for abortions for poor women," adding, "We cannot deny any women the right to make her own decision about abortion because she lacks resources." Giuliani did not mention the video in comments Monday and dismissed questions about whether his support for abortion rights, civil unions or gun control will affect his campaign (Cillizza et al., Washington Post, 3/13). In recent talks with conservative media outlets and voters in South Carolina, Giuliani said he would appoint "strict constructionist" judges to the Supreme Court. In a recent interview with Sean Hannity of Fox News, he also said that a law (S 3) being reviewed by the Supreme Court that bans so-called "partial-birth abortion" should be upheld and that he supports parental notification requirements with a judicial bypass provision for minors seeking abortions. Some prominent conservatives have criticized his municipal judicial appointments and have said his record undermines his promise that he would appoint "strict constructionists" (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 3/12).


NBC's "Nightly News" on Monday reported on the video and reaction from conservatives to Giuliani's comments on abortion rights and other issues. The segment includes comments from Giuliani and Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council (Allen, "Nightly News," NBC, 3/12). Video of the segment is available online.

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.