Bill Press: Don't be fooled. Rick Lazio is not pro-choice

June 5, 2000
Web posted at: 1:59 PM EDT (1759 GMT)

By Bill Press/CNN

It’s only June, but Rick Lazio must think it’s already Halloween. He’s so giddy to be in Rudy’s shoes, he’s now running around New York State wearing a mask, calling himself a moderate and pretending to be pro-choice.

Don’t be fooled. Check his record. Rick Lazio is not pro-choice.

Yes, Lazio supports Roe v. Wade, in principle. That means he’s more moderate on abortion than, say, Pat Robertson -- but he's still a long way from being a strong supporter of a woman’s right to choose.

According to the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL), in eight years in Congress, Lazio has voted on abortion and reproductive rights issues 94 times. Some 43 were anti-choice votes -- granted, better than many Republicans, but still not good enough.

But it’s not just the number of his anti-choice votes that counts, it’s their significance.

Here are just three examples. As a self-described moderate, Lazio:

-- Voted to ban privately-funded abortions at overseas military hospitals for U.S. servicewomen and military dependents, except in cases of rape or incest.

-- Voted to ban abortions for women in federal prisons, except in cases of life endangerment or rape. And....

-- Voted to ban Medicaid coverage for abortion, except in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest.

It’s that last vote, in favor of the so-called Hyde amendment, that is most troubling and puts the lie to Lazio’s phony claim to be pro-choice. By denying Medicaid funding for abortion (with three classic exceptions), the Hyde amendment says that all women have a right to choose to have an abortion -- as long as they can pay for it themselves. Poor women, who cannot afford an abortion, simply don’t have the same rights as richer women.

How do Lazio’s supporters defend that vote? They don’t. Instead, they change the subject. Don’t believe me? Check the CNN online transcripts for Crossfire on May 26 and Inside Politics on May 30.

On Friday, May 26, I asked Rep. Tom Reynolds, Lazio’s campaign chair, whether claiming to be pro-choice while voting for the Hyde amendment was a lie. Reynolds: “No, I think the congressman said it as he sees it. He’s a pro-choice Republican. He is opposed to partial-birth abortion and has publicly said that.”

On Tuesday, May 30, Judy Woodruff asked New York Gov. George Pataki how he could explain Lazio’s vote to cut funding for poor women seeking abortions. After suggesting opponents are distorting one vote, Pataki argues: “If you take a look at his record on the environment, on health care issues, on what he’s done for the disabled, on his commitment to education, I think people are going to say Rick Lazio’s been an outstanding member of Congress for all the people of New York.”

See the pattern? When asked about the Hyde amendment, talk about partial-birth abortion. Talk about education. Talk about the environment. Talk about health care. Talk about anything BUT the Hyde amendment. And no wonder. Because they simply cannot defend it.

Pretending to affirm a woman’s right to choose, while denying that right to poor women, is hypocritical, unconstitutional, un-American -- and definitely un-choice. There is no way you can be both pro-choice and pro-Hyde amendment.

Granted, abortion will not be the only issue in the New York Senate race, but it is one where there is a clear difference between Rick Lazio and Hillary Clinton. And an important one.

Last year, 47 senators voted against a non-binding, "sense of the Congress" resolution that deemed the Roe v. Wade decision "appropriate," and said it should not be overturned. Both of New York’s senators voted in favor of the resolution. That shows how close the margin on abortion is in the Senate, how close American women could be to losing their constitutional right of privacy, and how important it is that New Yorkers elect as their next senator a person who is unequivocally pro-choice.

That choice is clear. When it comes to pro-choice, Rick Lazio is anything but.

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