Eight leftist groups lobbying for abortion sent a letter to debate moderators Anderson Cooper and Martha Raddatz to press them on how America has grown far too conservative. They need to "allow a conversation about the crisis of abortion access in this country."
The coalition, that includes NARAL Pro-Choice America, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, EMILY's List and the National Organization for Women, complains that "Safe, legal, and accessible abortion is foundational to a woman’s ability to determine her own destiny."
Abortion is not a ‘niche’ issue. Asking about abortion means asking about whether a candidate thinks women should be given every opportunity to make decisions that are best for their health. It means going beyond simple “pro-choice” and “pro-life” labels and asking the candidates about how to protect access to basic reproductive healthcare. It means asking about whether a candidate thinks a woman deserves full access to the American values of freedom, equality, and opportunity.
Their idea of an ideal question asks about making taxpayers fund abortions for poorer women:
Among all of the barriers to accessing abortion care for American women, financial burdens rank highest. This is because the Hyde Amendment prevents low-income women from using public health insurance to access this medical service, and clinic closure laws have been so detrimental that it now requires considerable financial means to take time off work, find childcare and travel long distances to access abortion care. As president, how would you ensure that the constitutional right to abortion is guaranteed to all Americans, regardless of their financial situation?...
In this "town hall" format, undecided voters are supposed to ask the questions, but the moderators pick the questioners, and they're often quite ideological. Both sides can play this game. Dave Andrusko at National Right to Life also threw a question in the basket:
There are 80-90 million people viewing this first presidential debate, Secretary Clinton. Do you still stick by what you told Chuck Todd of Meet the Press–that “The unborn person doesn’t have constitutional rights,” including (when asked by Paula Faris of The View) “on its due date, just hours before delivery”?
