What our other readers have said:
Last updated: 12:28 p.m. 05/24/07
Between a woman and her doctor
The Republican Party needs Rudy because he speaks the truth about abortion. It is between a woman and her doctor and the Repulicans need to brighten up and realize everyone does not follow their order. Some of us are free thinkers. He speaks from the heart as a man and not as a politican.
Margie Alhart, Cypress, Tex., USA
Intestinal fortitude: a quality voters can appreciate
I truly believe [a pro-choice Republican candidate like Giuliani] can. For one, in this day and age it is rare to find a politician with the intestinal fortitude to take a controversial stance. This also shows his ability to separate his personal opinion from his political stance. These are two major items that I feel many voters can appreciate. I also think that his exact stance is shared by many including myself.
I share the exact same view point as Rudy Giuliani. Coming form the moderate right, I do not support abortion, but I support much less the government's ability to tell an individual what to do with their body. Taking away a woman's freedom to control her own body strips her of one of her most basic rights. As a veteran I know first-hand what our freedoms are worth and will not support those rights being stripped away from someone.
Daniel Brown, Falls Church, Va., USA
'Woo the moderate majority'
Whichever party attempts to woo the moderate majority is the party that will come out on top in 2008. A member of the GOP who has a few "liberal" views on social issues (example Rudy) would do very well in the general election. However, the conservative majority of the party would have to make the conscious decision to select whoever they feel can best win the general election, and not the candidate who represents their views the greatest.
Nathan Gontarz, Alden, N.Y., USA
Aren't Republicans supposed to be 'pro-choice'?
I grew up thinking that Republicans were the pro-choice party – independent, free thinking, free market. I think they've lost their way on the abortion issue. I'd like to see more pro-choice Republicans.
John Maki, San Francisco, Calif., USA
'Embrace the real world'
The only hope the Republicans have is to leave religious fanatics behind and embrace the real world which voters have to deal with. Women and doctors want abortion rights. That doesn't mean they like them. But they want them.
Maggie Macklin, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
'Abortion has nothing to do with governance'; Harmony is important
I believe that the religous fundamentalists are so in control of the Republican Party that a pro-choice candidate cannot survive. The Republicans have based their existence on "Family Values" and the abortion plank is the centerpiece of that rhetoric. It is very sad, because abortion has nothing to do with governance such as the needs to "fix" the security of our seniors and our disabled or the infrastructure needs facing our country among many critical matters facing our president and congress. "Family Values" certainly has nothing to do with our moral guidance in a world gone crazy with torture and ethnic cleansing and wars over oil. It is not "Family Values" and Abortion that are important, but how to live together in harmony, with honesty, responsibility, and respect of others and self. Republicans are using these catch phrases to maintain control and to let the rich get richer. Can you tell I am a Democrat that only used to vote Republican?
Claudius Whitmeyer, Shreveport, La., USA
Pro-choice Republican could enable humane society
I believe that a pro-choice candidate would have a chance, if the media would back him, instead of automatically attacking his grounds and principals. If the media had humanity's best interests in mind, we would have a better informed public and a more "humane" society. If reason was the only guiding factor in all that we did, it wouldn't matter if he was Republican or Democrat. It is reason that should take the place of all other factors when deciding the future of the Human Species.
Jason N. Mitchell, Las Vegas, Nev., USA
'Right to anything' the undoing of the US
A pro-choice Republican presidential candidate would make the Republicans more like the Democrats. What voters need is a contrast to the liberal Democratic Party who among other things discards traditional moral values. The right to abortion, right to homosexuality, right to pornography etc. is leading us down a "right to anything" path which will produce chaos and I believe will be the undoing of our country. So, I would never vote for a pro-abortion politician, Republican or otherwise.
David Lanham, Springfield, Mo., USA
Not accepted in the South, not successful
There is no way that a pro-choice Republican can survive the primary season. Giuliani will never be accepted in the South and the Republican Party cannot survive without the South.
James Cox, Decatur, Tex., USA
Time to stop selecting candidates on narrow issues
Many clear thinking individuals have recognized that selecting candidates based on narrow issues can have disastrous results. This time around, more people will think about the big picture when selecting a candidate.
Greg Adams, Mission Viejo, Calif., USA
GOP is the pro-life party
If a pro-abortion candidate like Giuliani is nominated, many Republicans, including myself, will either vote third-party or stay home – thus assuring a Democratic victory.
The Republican party is the pro-life party!
Joe Pavone, Cranford, N.J., USA
Radical right won't allow it
Even though polls consistently show that moderates in the GOP are split, the radical right that dominates the primary season will not allow such a candidate to survive.
Dominic Pody, Langhorne, Penn., USA
Country needs a pro-choice Republican
We need a pro-choice candidate for the GOP. Abortion is between a doctor and their patient, period!
This is an issue that should not be one. It should have never been brought into the political arena. We need more progressive GOP candidates.
Alan Halfhill, Kingston, Wash., USA
Not a chance
A pro-choice Republican has as much chance of winning the Republican nomination as a pro-Israel Shiite has of winning the Iranian presidency.
Bob Deering, Juneau, Alaska, USA
Giuliani could be 'slipping' for other reasons
I don't think his slippage is due to the abortion issue alone. In fact, I think the anti-abortion folks feel they are in control right now because of recent victories. Giuliani could be slipping as people focus in on the other questionable aspects of his personal life, and also because the other candidates may be drawing support away from Giuliani. But campaigns are so changeable – Giuliani could fade to last place and then "come from behind" at any moment in this particular race.
Rosalie Dunbar, Dracut, Mass., USA
Lack of experience a factor
It's not his pro-choice stance that will cost him the primary vote, it's the fact that he was only a mayor and doesn't have the experience that leads to the Oval Office. As a native New Yorker, I have a strong liking for the former mayor. He did incredible things for our city and was there when we needed him, but his experience in the political arena doesn't match up to McCain's – that's what will cost him the vote. So while his pro-choice stance leans to the left, it isn't the straw that will break his campaign's back.
Chrissie Sydness, Wilton, Conn., USA
