Rubio declares he’d rather lose than compromise on abortion
After the Iowa caucus and primaries in New Hampshire and South Carolina, the field of contenders for the Republican presidential nomination is getting smaller and political upstart Donald Trump is taking a commanding lead in delegates and popular support.
Trump, the billionaire who is running an anti-establishment campaign, finished second in Iowa and first in New Hampshire and South Carolina. Texas Senator Ted Cruz won Iowa on the strength of the state’s large evangelical population, but did not win in South Carolina as expected. Florida Senator Marco Rubio is trying to consolidate his support among moderate Republicans and the establishment. Rubio will need Ohio Governor John Kasich, who is viewed as a moderate, to drop out soon to create a political dynamic that does not divide his natural constituency. And retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson remains in the race despite low single-digit support, with the conventional wisdom suggesting that his continued presence on the campaign trail hurts Cruz.
Cruz, Rubio, and Kasich are pro-life, while Trump and Carson claim to be. Trump also praises Planned Parenthood, an organization he donated to before joining the Republican Party, and Carson has sent mixed signals in his often meandering speeches. Pro-life groups have generally remained on the sidelines during the primary.
In February, Senator Rand Paul, former Florida governor Jeb Bush, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, and businesswoman Carly Fiorina all dropped out of the campaign; each of them was pro-life although Bush and Christie supported exceptions for cases of rape and incest.
During a debate in New Hampshire, Rubio was challenged on his no exceptions position. He said, “I want to be frank: I would rather lose an election than be wrong on the issue of life.” Rubio turned the question around: “On abortion the Democrats are extremists. Why doesn’t the media ask Hillary Clinton why she believes that all abortions should be legal, even on the due date of that unborn child?” Rubio continued: “they are the extremists when it comes to the issue of abortion and I can’t wait to expose them in a general election.”
Pundits declared the answer a gaffe and Rubio finished fifth in the New Hampshire primary when he was expected to finish fourth or third. Rubio bounced back two weeks later to finish second in South Carolina.
Meanwhile former secretary of state and first lady Hillary Clinton won the Iowa and Nevada caucuses and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire primary. Both support abortion without any limits but Planned Parenthood has endorsed Clinton and prominent feminists such as Gloria Steinem and former secretary of state Madeline Albright have said women must vote for the female candidate.
