Ron Paul
U.S. representative from Texas from 1979-1985 and 1997 to present
Rep. Ron Paul has a long anti-choice record from his years in Congress, repeatedly voting to make it more difficult for women to access abortion and birth control.
- During his years in Congress, Rep. Paul voted 106 times on choice-related issues. Ninety-three of those votes were anti-choice. 1 On the occasions he voted pro-choice, Paul often made speeches on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to explain why and to reaffirm his anti-choice views.
- Rep. Paul tried to zero-out all international family-planning funds. 2
- In 2009, he voted for the notorious Stupak abortion-coverage ban. 3
- Rep. Paul voted for "personhood" rights, which could make abortion and many forms of birth control illegal. 4
Rep. Paul is vocal about his extreme position on choice:
- "I will veto any spending bill that contains funding for Planned Parenthood, facilities that perform abortion and all government family-planning schemes." 5
Footnotes
1 - NARAL Pro-Choice America, Congressional Record on Choice (1979-1985, 1997-2011) Pro-choice House votes:
- Family Planning Facilitation and Abortion Funding Restriction Act of 1997, H.R.581, 2/13/97.
- Child Custody Protection Act of 1998, H.R.3682, 7/15/98.
- Unborn Victims of Violence Act, H.R.2436, 9/30/99.
- Unborn Victims of Violence Act, H.R.503, 4/26/01.
- Child Custody Protection Act of 2002, H.R.476, 4/17/02.
- Unborn Victims of Violence Act, H.R.1997, 2/26/04.
- Scott amendment to Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, H.R.748, 4/27/05.
- Jackson Lee amendment to Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, H.R.748, 4/27/05.
- Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, H.R.748, 4/27/05.
- Smith amendment to FY'06 Foreign Relations Authorization Act, H.R.2601, 7/19/05.
- Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act. S.403, 9/26/06.
2 - Paul amendment to FY'98 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, H.R.2159, 9/4/97.
3 - Stupak amendment to Affordable Health Care for America Act, H.R.3962, 11/7/09; Camp motion to recommit Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, H.R.4872, 3/21/10.
4 - Siljander amendment to Civil Rights Act of 1984, H.R.5490, 6/26/84.
5 - LifeNews.com, "Ron Paul Would Sign Planned Parenthood Funding Ban," June 22, 2011.
Please credit NARAL Pro-Choice America as the source for the information on this page. If you have additional questions about the candidates’ positions, please contact the communications department at 202-973-3032 or Media@ProChoiceAmerica.org.
