Sunday

How Will Bush Handle the Issue of Abortion?

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BRIAN NELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Tomorrow marks the 28th anniversary of Roe versus Wade, that's the landmark Supreme Court ruling which legalized abortion. But this year's anniversary is met with a new man in the White House. George W. Bush opposes abortion rights.

CNN's White House correspondent Kelly Wallace takes a look at whether that could mean limits on women's rights to choose.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLY WALLACE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Supporters and opponents of abortion rights plan to mark Monday's 28th anniversary of Roe versus Wade, while the two sides continue to clash over the new president's choice for attorney general, John Ashcroft. Like Ashcroft, George W. Bush opposes abortion. Mr. Bush believes the Supreme Court ruling which legalized it went too far, a point he made one year ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Roe versus wade was a reach. It overstepped the constitutional bounds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: But that's not quite what his wife thinks. Late last week, as she made her debut as first lady, Laura Bush was asked on NBC's "Today" show if Roe v. Wade should be overturned. Mrs. Bush said she didn't think it should be overturned. But the first lady also stressed that she, like her husband, believes in abstinence education to REDUCE the number of abortions.

During the presidential campaign, Laura Bush was mostly silent about abortion, while Mr. Bush said he supported a constitutional ban, with some exceptions, but didn't think the public was ready for such a measure.

BUSH: We don't live in an ideal world right now.

WALLACE: The president's senior advisers say he will take up the abortion issue in the White House.

KARL ROVE, SENIOR ADVISER TO GEORGE W. BUSH: President bush is going to do what he said during the campaign, and that is to build a culture of life, to find ways to make abortion less prevalent in our country.

WALLACE: And that could include reversing Clinton administration executive orders. That is why abortion rights supporters remain concerned, despite Mrs. Bush's personal views.

KAE MCLAUGHLIN, TEXAS ABORTION RIGHTS LEAGUE: We have seen nothing but anti-choice activities from the governor, speaking as the governor of Texas. And we have no reason to believe that if there are pro-choice values in the household that they have had any effect on him whatsoever.

WALLACE: Abortion rights opponents shrugged off Laura Bush's comments. In a statement, the National Right to Life Committee said, quote, "George W. Bush is pro life, and we think he will make a great pro life president."

(on camera): Mrs. Bush's mother-in-law, Barbara Bush, never talked about abortion while in the White House. But once she left, she revealed her support for a woman's right to choose. And it now appears that Laura Bush plans to follow that example, because aides say everything Mrs. Bush wants said about this topic has already been said.

Kelly Wallace, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDRIA HALL, CNN ANCHOR: The two sides of the abortion debate are already gauging the possible impact Mr. Bush may have on the very divisive issue. To get both sides on what's at stake, we turn to Ken Connor, president of the Family Research Council, joining us from Washington; and Gloria Feldt, president of Planned Parenthood, who is joining us from New York.

To find out where we're going, why don't we take a look first about where we've been. Since 1973 and Roe versus Wade, which legalized abortion, what does history tell us now about the pro choice movement and the anti-abortion movement.

Mr. Connor, let's start with you first.

KEN CONNOR, PRESIDENT, FAMILY RESEARCH CENTER: Well, what we know, Andria, is since Roe versus Wade over 40 million children have perished in this country at the hands of abortionists. President Clinton indicated that he wanted to make abortion safe, legal and rare, and yet he did not one thing to make it rare. In fact, we've even seen the Supreme Court put its seal of approval behind the grisly procedure the partial-birth abortion.

And so we have a great hope with the advent of a new president who is committed to a culture of life and to seeing legal protection for every child, that we're about to embark on a new era where the sanctity of life is once again respected and unborn children hopefully will become protected.

HALL: And, Miss Feldt, your perspective on the past 28 years? GLORIA FELDT, PLANNED PARENTHOOD: Well to say that abortion started with Roe versus Wade is ridiculous. we all know that. The fact of the matter is that the abortion rate is lower today than it was two generations ago because of the advent of better contraceptive methods, which we are all fighting for. And frankly, better contraceptive methods and more access to family planning and responsible, medically accurate sex education is what we should all be working on together if we really want to lower the rate of abortions.

That having been said, I have to say that one thing we can probably all agree on here is that a woman's right to choose is probably at greater threat than it has been at any time since the Roe versus Wade decision in 1973.

The good news from the pro-choice front is that I have never seen our supporters more activated, more passionate and more ready to go to work. We started a new Web site just last week. It's called Roeversusbush.com in anticipation of all the things we know President George W. Bush is planning to do to take away a woman's a right to choose.

HALL: Let's begin to talk...

FELDT: That Web site had 400 hits in its first three days.

HALL: Clearly this is a situation...

FELDT: People are (OFF-MIKE)

HALL: Clearly this is a situation where many people are concerned about the issue on both sides.

Let's talk about what George W. Bush might be doing in the first weeks, months of his presidency. When he was campaigning, he made it no secret his stance on abortion. Where do you believe, Mr. Connor, this will rank on his priority list as he tries to tackle so many issues in the coming months and year?

CONNOR: Well, we hope it will rank very high. After all, the right to life is the foundation of all other rights. It's that right without which no other right can exist. So we hope it will rank very high.

On the very front end of his administration, we'd love to see President Bush reverse the policy of the Clinton administration to fund organizations overseas that promote and advocate abortion.

We would also like to see this Congress begin to defund Ms. Feldt's organize, Planned Parenthood, which generates millions and millions and millions of dollars in fees for abortions that they promote around the world.

We'd like to see the president...

HALL: Excuse me, you're using terminology,,,

CONNOR: Excuse me -- if you'd let me finish...

FELDT: So wrong, so wrong...

HALL: I know, but you're using a terminology...

CONNOR: If you would allow...

FELDT: It's not even true. It's not even true.

CONNOR: Ma'am, I know would you like to shut off...

HALL: Can I be the referee here, guys? Can I be the referee here? I just wanted to move on because we know that you both have your particular positions on it. I just want to read a quote from Laura Bush. She said she dot not believe that Roe versus Wade should be overturned. But she did say that -- and Ms. Feldt, I'd like you to comment.

She said, "I think that we should do what we can to limit the number of abortions, and that's by taking -- talking about responsibility with girls and boys, by teaching abstinence, having abstinence classes everywhere in schools, in churches, in Sunday schools."

What's wrong with that, Ms. Feldt?

FELDT: Well, she's certainly right that Roe -- excuse me -- shouldn't be overturned, and she's certainly right that we should be talking about responsibility. But you have to tell young people what it means to say yes and what it means to say no.

Abstinence-only sex education simply doesn't work. What does work is medically accurate, responsible and comprehensive sexuality education that enables young people to understand what the consequences of their behavior would be and what it would mean to have a child -- what saying yes -- what they want to say yes to in life and what it takes to get to their goals.

You have to have real information in order to be able to make wise choices. It's also important to be able to have access to family planning services that prevent unintended pregnancies. All medically accurate methods of contraception, that's what family-planning programs do here in the United States and abroad and that's what we need to be working on together to improve women health, to improve the lives of children and the next generation.

And, you know, the fact is that Roe versus Wade isn't really about abortion, per se. It's about whether we as Americans have the right to make our own responsible choices about child bearing. And...

HALL: Mr. Connor...

CONNOR: You know, Andria, I think...

HALL: Mr. Connor, with the new administration, where would you like to see your organization moving, and how quickly would you like to see your organization moving to promote your particular agenda?

CONNOR: Well I'd love to see President Bush act right away to reverse the policy of the Clinton administration to fund organizations that promote abortion around the world. I'd love to see the Congress pass the Born Alive Protection Act, which ensures that children who survive abortion would not subsequently be killed. I'd love to see President Clinton appoint judges whom, as he acknowledges...

HALL: I think you mean President Bush, sir.

CONNOR: Excuse me, President Bush.

HALL: I don't think you want to see President Clinton.

CONNOR: No, we can't see too little of him, as far as we're concerned. But we'd love to see President Bush appoint judges who strictly construe the Constitution.

You know, Miss Feldt talks about a woman's right to choose. What she refuses to acknowledge is that it's a right to choose to kill her innocent child. Where does that right come from? I would submit to you that in Roe versus Wade, the court...

FELDT: And is a woman's life not a life?

CONNOR: ... invented that right. There's no right to choose to kill innocent children, and to suggest that women are not free until they're free to kill their innocent child is a perverse view of freedom which we reject. We believe the sanctity of life ought to be affirmed, and that every child, as President Bush has indicated, ought to be welcomed in life and protected in law.

HALL: And 30 seconds from each of you, I will let you begin Ms. Feldt. Your organization is on high alert at this point, is that correct?

FELDT: Absolutely, the combination of an anti-choice president, George Bush, the possibility of John Ashcroft as attorney general, others who have been appointed who oppose a woman's fundamental, constitutional right to make her own child-bearing decisions free of government interference, to have her own life, truly her own life, and the possibility of a Supreme Court that they will shape is a recipe for absolutely disaster for the health and well-being of the women, children and families of this country.

HALL: And, Mr. Connor...

CONNOR: There is...

FELDT: So we must be active, we must.

HALL: And, Mr. Connor, you feel as if your organization for the first time in a long time is on the offensive versus the defensive, is that correct?

CONNOR: Indeed we do. We don't believe there is a woman's right to choose to kill her innocent child. We don't believe that the Constitution protects the right to kill innocent children. The very first right that our founding fathers recognized and enshrined in the Declaration of Independence was the right to life.

We believe that every life ought to be respected and protected...

FELDT: But not women's lives, Ken. you don't respect women's lives.

CONNOR: ... And extremist groups like Planned Parenthood insist on perpetuating the barbaric procedure of partial-birth abortion, in which a child's brains are sucked out and...

FELDT: Ken, it's so unfortunate. It's so unfortunate...

CONNOR: ... their skulls crushed is an outrage and a barbarity in this country.

FELDT: ... you don't respect women's lives and women's hearts.

HALL: Ken Connor...

CONNOR: We respect women's lives. We don't think they ought to be able to take innocent children's lives, Gloria.

HALL: Ken Connor, Gloria Feldt, you each have presented your perspectives with great passion, and we thank you for your perspective here on CNN SUNDAY.

FELDT: Thank you, Andria.

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