WASHINGTON, DC -- NARAL Pro-Choice America, the leading national advocate for personal privacy and a woman’s right to choose, called former ambassador, talk show host, and failed presidential candidate Alan Keyes “right in line” with other anti-choice Republican senate candidates.

Elizabeth Cavendish, Interim President of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said: “Alan Keyes fits right in to a Republican slate that represents the true, out-of-the-mainstream face of the GOP under George W. Bush. Voters will surely see through their mask of moderation come November.”

Keyes is well known for his strident and outspoken opposition to reproductive rights. He even opposes the right to choose even in cases of rape or incest. Keyes outbursts include telling a group of fifth grade students that “Because we have denied freedom to children in the womb who haven’t yet gotten to this world, freedom will be denied to you and to your brothers and sisters and to your children”[1]

Other anti-choice candidates for Senate this year include:

• Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, winner of last week’s GOP primary, who recently stated that “"I favor the death penalty for abortionists and other people who take life,"[2]
  
• Johnny Byrd of Florida, who misused state funds sending an appeal in support of an anti-choice constitutional amendment to purchasers of “Choose Life” license plates. Byrd is only one of several determinedly anti-choice candidates in a contested primary.[3]
  
• Al King of Oregon, who shares Keyes’ opposition to freedom of choice even in cases of rape or incest.[4]
  
• Bill Jones of California, who describes himself as “predominantly pro-life.”[5]
  
• George Nethercutt of Washington, who has amassed a record of staunch opposition to a woman’s right to choose.[6]
  
• Jim Holt of Arkansas, who has claimed that “federal judges have done more than terrorists to harm the country, mainly by permitting abortions.” [7]
  
• Pete Coors of Colorado, who recently vowed end his company’s long-standing practice of covering abortions as part of its health care benefits package, in response to pressure from anti-choice organizations. [8]
  
• Incumbent Senator Kit Bond of Missouri, who has consistently opposed a woman’s right to choose throughout his career in the Senate.[9]

Cavendish added: “George W. Bush has amassed an aggressively anti-choice record during his four years as President. Having supporters in the Senate like Mr. Keyes, Coburn, Byrd, Jones and Nethercutt would enable him to further roll back the rights we have fought so hard to win over the last three decades for the women of America. If you want to keep yourself awake at night, just image this group voting on President Bush’s likely nominees to the Supreme Court and allowing him to tip the balance against Roe. Pro-choice Americans need to mobilize for this election as if our lives were on the line – because they are.”

Keyes, Coburn and the other out-of-the-mainstream candidates seek to join flip-flopping Senate incumbents Lisa Murkowski and Arlen Specter, both of whom formerly called themselves “pro-choice” but cannot really be counted on to protect a woman’s right to choose.

[1] Boston Globe, p. A27 Jan 28, 2000 [2] Associated Press, July 23, 2004 [3] St. Petersburg Times, August 21, 2003 [4] King Campaign Web site [5] Campaign Web site [6] NARAL Pro-Choice America Congressional Scorecard [7] The Hotline, May 25, 2004 [8] Denver Post, August 06, 2004 [9] NARAL Pro-Choice America Congressional Scorecard

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