Five Questions for Fred Thompson

Washington, DC – As former Sen. Fred Thompson prepares to formally enter the Republican presidential primary, Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said that his anti-choice record, including his call for the reversal of Roe v. Wade, represents another disappointing option for voters.

"Fred Thompson has made clear that he supports taking away a woman's right to choose," Keenan said. "Sadly, his out-of-the mainstream views make him the rule, rather than the exception, in a GOP field of candidates that is openly hostile to the American values of freedom and privacy. Voters want a leader who has a vision of unifying this country behind policies that improve women's health-care options, not another president, like George Bush, who will use the government's power to take away our personal freedoms. Fred Thompson is not a candidate who will unify this country."

During his eight years in the U.S. Senate, Thompson voted anti-choice 44 out of 46 times on choice-related issues. He has called Roe v. Wade "bad law" and received the National Right to Life Committee's endorsement in his bid for Senate.

Keenan said Thompson, along with other leading GOP candidates, has taken the hypocritical stance of refusing to support commonsense prevention proposals while trying to make abortion more difficult and dangerous. Keenan called on Thompson to clarify his views and answer the following five questions on a woman's right to choose:

1. You support overturning Roe v. Wade. Doesn't that mean you support government interference in personal, private medical decisions that should be made between a woman, her family, and her doctor?

2. If you believe abortion should be outlawed and that doctors who provide abortion care should face criminal charges, then do you also believe women should be sent to prison for terminating a pregnancy?

3. Ninety-nine percent of Americans believe it is appropriate for young people to have information about STDs, and 94 percent of Americans think it is appropriate to teach young people about birth control. Do you support honest, realistic, age-appropriate sex education?

4. Do you think it's okay for a pharmacy to refuse to fill a woman's prescription for birth control based on an employee's personal views against contraception?

5. Do you believe hospital emergency rooms should be allowed to withhold information from a sexual-assault survivor about emergency contraception — which can help to prevent a pregnancy if taken soon after the assault?

NARAL Pro-Choice America is committed to making sure voters know all presidential candidates' positions on choice. For more information, please visit www.ProChoiceAmerica.org/elections/.

Contact:
Ted Miller, 202.973.3032