State of Washington secondary Archives: on Abortion

Michael Baumgartner: Life begins at conception; no exceptions except pragmatism

Our question for Baumgartner, who told us today that Akin's statement was "inexcusable and stupid and ignorant"--was this: How was his position different than Akin's?

"I have empathy for the victims of rape. Rape is a tragedy. It's a terrible thing. Certainly, we need to give victims all the help we can. There is no place in politics for uttering something so ignorant about pregnancy and rape."

As for Baumgartner's own position: ""I am still a Catholic. I still believe life begins at conception. That is consistent with my Catholic beliefs. And I believe we must protect life."

He concluded: "The culture wars are not why I'm in the state senate or running against my opponent. I'm pragmatic. I objected to the expansion of abortion services, but I voted for two budgets that funded [family planning] services."

Patty Murray: Nethercutt's voted against expanding stem-cell research

MURRAY: Embryonic stem-cell research is an extremely important area of research that provides hope to thousands of families with Parkinson's disease, with multiple sclerosis, that scientists tell us holds tremendous potential. But they tell us that the policies that are in place today are prohibiting them from moving forward. This is another area where what Nethercutt says here is different than what he does in Washington DC. Unless he's changed his position, in 1996, when he had the opportunity to vote for expanding stem-cell research, both in committee and on the floor of the Congress, he voted no.

Phil Fortunato: F Grade from NARAL, sponsored anti-abortion bills

Pramila Jayapal: Expand contraceptive options for women & Planned Parenthood

In the Washington Senate, Pramila introduced legislation to expand contraceptive options for women and led efforts to provide critical services to victims of domestic violence.

Pramila is a staunch advocate for a woman's right to make her own health care decisions. She believes that with Planned Parenthood under attack, now more than ever we must fight for expanded access to women's health care--including access to abortion care, and expanding preventive care such as mammograms and ovarian cancer screenings. In the State Senate, she helped ensure that women on Medicaid would have access to multiple forms of contraception, so that women could choose what made the most sense for their medical needs.