Nick Juliano
Ron Paul defended his anti-abortion stance during an intense grilling from the women hosting "The View" Tuesday, acknowledging that he was unlikely to convince the pro-choice women of his position and that it would be virtually impossible to completely outlaw the procedure nationally.
"I don't think we're ever going to reach a stage where there will no abortions," Paul said. The Texas congressman, whose long-shot bid for the Republican nomination is gaining steam, said he would like to see Roe v. Wade overturned. But Paul said state governments should be able to decide for themselves how to regulate abortion. "But I want to sort this out the way the constitution mandates, and that is at the local level."
Paul, a former OB-GYN, said his anti-abortion position was based on his view that a fetus was a human being with the same rights as any other person. Just as he advocated personal privacy that would not give people the right's to commit murder, he did not view a woman's claim to her own body as superior to the fetus's right to life.
"It's a legal position because I honor and respect the rights of the mother. But your home too; your home is your castle," Paul said. "I don't want any government in your home: no searches without warrants, no cameras. But you can't kill your baby in your home."
The hosts spent several minutes discussing Paul's abortion position, although they spent virtually no time on the libertarian lawmaker's fierce opposition to the war in Iraq and his calls for limiting American intervention abroad, which have garnered him substantial support online.
Paul is the first candidate to appear on the popular daytime talk show since a writers strike began last month. Democratic candidates have said they would not cross picket lines to appear on The View while the strike persists; a CBS-sponsored debate could also be canceled because of Democrats refusals to participate if that network's news writers call a strike.
On Tuesday's show, Paul -- a proponent of returning to the gold standard -- said the dollar's ongoing loss of value is "one of the most serious threats we're facing today."
Paul was visibly agitated when co-host Joy Behar told him, "you probably are not going to win and you know that," then asked who among the Republicans he would be willing to vote for.
"You want those pro-war people to win?" Paul asked. "No, you don't. ... If they come around endorsing my anti-war views, and pro-free-markets and sound money, yeah I would consider it, but I don't have anybody now that I could vote for."
This video is from ABC's The View, broadcast on December 4, 2007.
Original article posted here.
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