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Dick Cheney on Abortion

Vice President of the United States under George W. Bush

 


Supports stem-cell research

By the summer of 2001, stem cells had emerged as an issue with the power to shatter Bush’s image as a social moderate. Bush had waited six months to make up his mind, and scientists were grumbling to sympathetic newspapers. Cover stories blared headlines of “A Question of Life and Death.” In case the headline left anyone in doubt about which was the right side of the issue, articles explained that stem cells pitted “religion against science” and “pro-life purists against research.”

Polls taken after this press barrage showed that 2/3 of the public favored stem-cell research. So did many of the party’s biggest donors. So did Nancy Reagan. So did a large majority of the White House senior staff. So did Vice President Cheney and Andy Card.

If Bush were the puppet of his staff or his vice president that so many journalists still believed him to be, now was the moment for him to snap to. But he didn’t. He did something I had never seen him do: He brooded.

Source: The Right Man, by David Frum, p.106-7 , Jun 1, 2003

Reach across the divide on adoptions & notification

Governor Bush and I have emphasized that while we clearly are both pro-life, that we want to look for ways to try to reduce the incidence of abortion in our society. Many on the pro-choice side have said exactly the same thing. Even Bill Clinton, who’s been a supporter of abortion rights has advocated reducing abortion to make it as rare as possible.

What we’d like to be able to do is to look for ways to reach across the divide between the two points of view and find things that we can do together to reduce the incidence of abortion. We look at such things as promoting adoption as an alternative, encouraging the parental notification, and we also think banning the horrific practice of partial-birth abortions is an area where there could be agreement.

Congress has twice passed, by overwhelming margins, significant number of votes from both parties, the ban on partial-birth abortions. Twice it’s been vetoed by Bill Clinton and Al Gore.

Source: Vice-presidential debate , Oct 5, 2000

Let FDA’s RU-486 decision stand; it’s only based on safety

Q: Would you support restricting distribution of the abortion drug, RU-486?

CHENEY: The approval of RU-486 by the FDA really was a question of whether or not it was safe to be used by women. They didn’t address the question of whether or not there should or should not be abortion in the society, so much as evaluate that particular drug. With respect to the RU-486 proposal [currently before Congress], Governor Bush does not anticipate directing the FDA to reverse course on that particular issue, primarily because the decision they made was [solely] on the efficacy of the drug.

LIEBERMAN: My answer is no, I would not support legislation that is being introduced in Congress to override the FDA decision on RU-486. The FDA worked 12 years on this serious problem, they made a judgment based on what was good for women’s health; a doctor has to prescribe and care for a woman using it. I think it’s a decision that we ought to let stand because it was made by experts.

Source: Vice-presidential debate , Oct 5, 2000

Exemptions for rape, incest or woman’s life now OK

During his six terms as a congressman from Wyoming, Cheney consistently voted in favor of restrictions on abortion rights, but he told CNN that he supports Bush’s view on certain exemptions. I’ve consistently supported the pro-life position, but I don’t have any problem supporting the pro-life proposition ... that would allow for exemption for rape, incest or the life of the mother, Cheney said.
Source: CNN.com, “Opens campaign in Wyoming” , Jul 26, 2000

In Congress: No exceptions in the case of rape or incest

Cheney believes the government’s role in social issues should be limited. [In Congress in the 1980s], he opposed federal funding for abortions -- with no exceptions in the case of rape or incest.
Source: CNN.com coverage , Jul 24, 2000

Against abortion rights

Source: (X-ref Education) US News & World Report , Jul 11, 1999

Co-sponsored “Preborn Children’s Civil Rights Act of 1985”

Source: Thomas Register of Congressional Votes , Jan 1, 1988

  • Click here for definitions & background information on Abortion.
  • Click here for VoteMatch responses by Dick Cheney.
  • Click here for AmericansElect.org quiz by Dick Cheney.
Other past presidents on Abortion: Dick Cheney on other issues:
Former Presidents:
Barack Obama(D,2009-2017)
George W. Bush(R,2001-2009)
Bill Clinton(D,1993-2001)
George Bush Sr.(R,1989-1993)
Ronald Reagan(R,1981-1989)
Jimmy Carter(D,1977-1981)
Gerald Ford(R,1974-1977)
Richard Nixon(R,1969-1974)
Lyndon Johnson(D,1963-1969)
John F. Kennedy(D,1961-1963)
Dwight Eisenhower(R,1953-1961)
Harry S Truman(D,1945-1953)

Past Vice Presidents:
V.P.Joseph Biden
V.P.Dick Cheney
V.P.Al Gore
V.P.Dan Quayle
Sen.Bob Dole

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Page last updated: Feb 22, 2022