Huckabee on Abortion and Gay Rights

RGolden
P3

Every individual has different views on abortion and marriage; being pro-choice or pro-life and pro-straight and pro-homosexual. America has derived a strict controversy over both issues. The debate has become so strong that it is now strongly involved in the presidential elections. Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas Governor, is a republican candidate for the presidential election of 2008. Being a former governor of a state that recently passed laws banning abortion and same sex marriage has his opinion on both issues in the public eye prior to running for president.

Huckabee has a strong opinion about abortion and the sanctity of life. Huckabee states his claim that, “...life doesn't begin at conception and end at birth…every child deserves the opportunity to discover and use his God-given gifts and talents.” He believes that when a child is conceived they are an American and entitled to a proper education, housing in a decent neighborhood, first rate health care, clean air and water, and a chance to live their life. In the Value Voters Debate, Huckabee explains why he is pro-life. While talking in the debate, Huckabees political view of why abortion is wrong is clearly stated as, “I’m not a person who became pro-life because I got into politics, I’m like a lot of you, I got into politics because I’m pro-life.”

Watch this part of the debate here:


Huckabee’s strong opinions on abortion are greatly appreciated by some and strongly disliked by others. To some voters getting an abortion is the womens choice and not the states, others feel regardless of the situation, saving the unborn American is more vital than the womens choices. In certain situations, lets say rape is done, what does the state do to those situations? An unknown source tells the Washington post about an event regarding Huckabee and his antiabortion amendment when “…an unidentified 15-year-old girl had an abortion after being raped by her stepfather…the clinic sought reimbursement for the procedure through Medicaid, the state declined.” In Arkansas, where this event had happened when Huckabee was governor, he stood firmly by the amendment he had recently passed prior to the incident. Federal Law allows Medicare funds to be used for abortions in such cases, but due to Huckabees strong opinions, he didn’t want to violate the states antiabortion measure. As a compromise he started a fund to help women who couldn’t afford an abortion. Huckabee, while governor of Arkansas, did all he could to enforce antiabortion measures while the Roe v. Wade was still enact.

The Roe v. Wade case is consistently referred to all candidates remarks about abortion; the Supreme Court ruled that laws regarding the banishment of abortion were a violation of the constitutional right to privacy under the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Huckabee feels the case was ruled wrongly and the day the case is repealed will be a glorious day for America. But of all the candidates, Huckabee is the strongest voice against abortion and saving the lives of unborn children. Huckabee compares the state laws of abortion to the state laws of slavery in an interview from Beliefent magazine stating, “That’s again the logic of the Civil War -- that slavery could be OK in Georgia but not OK in Massachusetts. Obviously, we'd today say, 'Well that's nonsense. Slavery is wrong, period. It can't be right somewhere and wrong somewhere else.' Same with abortion.”

Huckabee not only has a strong passion for antiabortion measures, but also to the restriction of homosexual marriages. He believes that the institution of marriage is based on one woman and one man. As passer of the amendment restricting abortions in Arkansas he also passed an amnendment stating no homosexual marriages in the state of Arkansas. With the passing of that amendment most churchs in Arkansas will not perform homosexual marriages. With the passing of the covent marriage amendment in Arkansas he hopes to decline divorce rates. Huckabee is not someone who is against peoples personal sexual preference, he just wanted to quiet the activists trying to change the social code of marriage. Huckabee believes that “People have a right to decide how they live their lives, but they have to respect not changing the definition of marriage,” therefore only wanting to keep the idea of traditional marriage alive. Huckabee clearly states his position that he is not against homosexuals he just doesn’t want the institution of marriage to be rewritten from one man and one woman to one man/woman and one man/woman. He feels marriage is sacred and is for life and that the definition of marriage is inevitable.

Huckabees views of homsexual marriages and abortion are controverysal to most, but he has opinions he voices because he wants to be heard. He feels so strongly about his opinions he will not stop at any measure to get what he feels is for the good of America.

Citations:

Medical News Today. 1/21/08. MediLexicon International Ltd. 2/6/08. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/94490.php> (Source A)

Mike Huckabee. Huckabee for President. 2/6/0 <http://www.mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=Issues.View&Issue_id=11> (Source B)

Washington Post. 2/9/07. The Washington Post Company. 2/6/08. < http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/09/AR2007020901726.html > (Source C)

Washington Post. 12/20/07. The Washington Post Company. 2/6/08. < http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/20/AR2007122002432_2.htm > (Source D)

YouTube. 9/16/07. YouTube. 2/6/0 <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKQD9UToAjg> (Source E)