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I did not know that Senator John F. Kerry believes that life begins at conception. Now that I do know, I do not understand 20 years of votes supporting a woman's right to terminate an unwanted pregnancy. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's explanation over the weekend implied that his civic duty in a pluralistic society required him to ignore his conscience. ''There is something called freedom of conscience in the Catholic Church," Kerry told an Iowa newspaper. ''I oppose abortion, personally. I don't like abortion. I believe life begins at conception. But I don't take my Catholic beliefs, my article...

COLUMBUS, OH – Today, Ohio pro-life activist Denise Mackura issued the following statement in regards to Sen. John Kerry’s comments Sunday on abortion and the Catholic church: "Could anyone really believe that John Kerry opposed partial birth abortion after he voted six times to keep this gruesome practice legal? Why is he trying to mislead people about his true position? As a Democrat, a Catholic, and an American, I am saddened that he continues to support this barbaric and extreme position. Our country needs a President who stands by his convictions on this critical issue, not someone who says he...

Whenever Democrats mock George Bush for holding that human life "begins at conception," they will also be mocking their own presidential candidate. John Kerry agrees with Bush. "I believe life does begin at conception," Kerry said this past weekend. "I oppose abortion, personally. I don't like abortion." This also echoes his wife's comments earlier in the year when she let slip that "I don't view abortion as just a nothing" and that abortion means "stopping the process of life." Catholic Democrats like Kerry assume that making this sort of show of their personal moral distaste for abortion will make their...

In the heart of the heartland, in a hardworking Mississippi River town, in a state that Al Gore carried in 2000 by only 4,144 votes, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts gave the good people a lesson in biology and religion. "Dubuque, heavily German Catholic, was for years Iowa's most Democratic city, and still is sometimes unless abortion is the issue," notes the Almanac of American Politics. "I believe life does begin at conception," Kerry told the Dubuque Telegraph Herald in a story published Sunday. That was the biology part of Kerry's little lecture. How curious. One would think that in...

DUBUQUE, Iowa -- John Kerry's pro-choice stance on abortion dogged him during his Fourth of July visit to this heavily Catholic city. The Democratic presidential candidate on Sunday attended mass at the Church of the Resurrection in Dubuque, sat in the fourth pew, donated a crisp $20 bill to the church during collection, and received Communion. But several churchgoers separately quizzed Kerry about his legislative support for abortion rights after Mass on Sunday when Kerry was signing autographs and posing for pictures with congregation members. "It's hard," Kerry told parishioner Frank Ward, a father of five and an abortion opponent....

The July 4th weekend was a disaster for Kerry. Pushed on the issue of abortion in heavily Catholic midwest towns - Kerry was coming up with quotes like: "I don't like abortion, I believe life does begin at conception. But I can't take my Catholic belief, my article of faith, and legislate it on a Protestant or a Jew or an athiest...who does not share it. We have seperation of Church and State in the United States of America." Kerry spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter says, "John Kerry says he believes abortion should be legal..." If Kerry squares his voting record with...

John Kerry may have "stepped in it" on the Fourth of July when he said more than he needed to say on the subject of abortion. Kerry is the first prominent pro-abortion politician I can remember admitting that life begins at conception. In fact, I don't remember any pro-abortion person making that admission -- to himself, much less to the public. People I've debated on the issue have generally taken the position that the baby in the womb is "potential life" or a clump of cells or a zygote. They seemed to sense that they would have no legitimate argument...

Sen. John Kerry's newly expressed position that as a Roman Catholic he personally opposes abortion but favors keeping it legal was explicitly rejected by a bishop 10 years ago. In his 1994 "Pastoral Letter on Morality and Conscience," the late Bishop John Keating of Arlington, Va., addressed the argument of some Catholic politicians who seek "to justify a 'pro-choice' position" by stating: "I am personally opposed to abortion, but I cannot impose my religious beliefs on others." Keating wrote: "The fallacy in this reasoning is simply that the morality of abortion is not a religious belief, any more than the...

Dubuque, IA (LifeNews.com) -- In an interview with reporters over the weekend, John Kerry attempted to cover up his pro-abortion position and minimize the damage it causes with voters in the Midwest, who are more likely to be pro-life. While campaigning with Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, a possible running mate, Kerry told the Dubuque Telegraph Herald, "I oppose abortion, personally. I don't like abortion. I believe life does begin at conception." The surprising remarks don't match Kerry's record and consistent rhetoric in favor of abortion. As a member of the Senate, Kerry has compiled only a 2% pro-life voting record...

Did John Kerry Lie About Abortion? 2/23/04 While the Democratic primary has gotten more interesting with Senator John Edwards' strong showing Tuesday in Wisconsin, it still looks like Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts will be going head-to-head with President Bush in this fall's election. This makes things interesting for voting Catholics — after all, Kerry likes to tout his Catholic faith to prospective voters. Of course, this isn't always an easy thing to do, given the senator's strong support of abortion. His strategy for getting away with this, though, is the same one used by so many "Catholic" politicians: He...