MY POSITION ON RIGHT TO LIFE ENDORSEMENTS
I declined to pursue the Right to Life endorsement. Some believe my position will be hurtful to my bid for the election to the State Board of Education. I thought I might take a moment to explain.
RTL endorsements are not given to the candidate most committed to the issue of life, but factored along with "electability". I believe this puts the issue in second
place over the wish for the
RTL organization to be considered a
powerful political force. In my opinion, all candidates who demonstrate a
commitment to Life issues should receive the endorsement. This demonstrates
the importance of this issue above politics.
If people choose
not to vote for me due to this position, so be it. If there are people
who vote based only on the RTL voter guide without knowing
the policies and practice of RTL, I hope they get
informed. After all, they may be
directed to vote for someone who doesn’t prioritize this issue as high as they
do.
I am willing to share my personal belief on this issue. However, as a candidate for the Michigan
State Board of Education, I do not consider it to be an issue pertaining to the
job. It is not an issue that the BoE has
control over, nor should it attempt to operate outside the realm of its purpose.
I am Catholic and
as such I believe we must protect the lives of innocent people, especially
unborn babies. No matter what circumstances this baby comes from, we must
protect his or her inherent right to come into the world. There has been a shift in concern to the
rights of the mother. While this is also
important, the ability and right of a woman to bear a child is also an
incredible responsibility. She is
obligated to behave in such a manner that she recognizes possibility for
pregnancy, and acts based on what she is ready to accept. Of course, there are gray areas such as rape,
and I am not sure I have all the answers for that. But the right answer cannot be to end a life
that has barely begun.
