Going Rogue, by Sarah Palin: on Abortion

Sarah Palin: Daughter Piper is poster girl for Alaska Right-to-Life

"That's you, baby," I whispered to Piper [my 7-year-old daughter], as I have every year since she smiled for the picture as an infant. She popped another cloud of cotton candy into her mouth and looked nonchalant. Still the pro-life poster child at the State Fair. Ho-hum.Well, I still thought it was a nice shot, as I did every time I saw it on its advertisements and fund-raiser tickets. It reminded me of the preciousness of life.

It also reminded me of how impatient I am with politics. A staunch advocate of every child's right to be born, I was pro-life enough for the grassroots RTL folks to adopt Piper as their poster child, but I wasn't politically connected enough for the state GOP machine to allow the organization to endorse me in early campaigns.

Sarah Palin: Choose life even in case of rape or teenage pregnancy

But the debate moderator decided to personalize his hypotheticals with a series of "what if..." questions:

Q: If a woman were, say, raped...

A: I would choose life.

Q: If your daughter were pregnant...

A: Again, I would choose life."

Q: If your teenage daughter got pregnant...

A: I'd counsel a young parent to choose life & consider adoption.

I calmly repeated my answers to all o his "what-ifs," then looked pointedly to my right and my left, to one opponent, then the other. Then I returned to the moderator and said, "I'm confident you'll be asking the other candidates these same questions, right?" Of course, he didn't.

Sarah Palin: Protect our daughters with parental notification law

I turned to the nurse, and my eyes said more than words could have. She said, "we can't treat him until you sign consent forms because he's a minor." Of course I understood, but I still fumed inside. I even wondered out loud about why this big, strapping, nearly grown man who was overcome with pain couldn't even get a drink of water without parental consent, yet a 13-year-old girl could undergo a painful, invasive, and scary abortion and no parent even had to be NOTIFIED. The nurse seemed to agree with me, and on the spot I mentally renewed my commitment to help change Alaska's parental notification law so that our daughters would have the same support and protection we give to our children in other medical situations.

Sarah Palin: Fleetingly considered abortion at 43; understands sentiment

I quickly prayed about this surreal situation. I could hear the critics now: "She'll be distracted from state business."

I sighed and stared at the ceiling. And for a split second it hit me: "I'm out of town. No one knows I'm pregnant. No one would ever have to know." It was a fleeting thought, a sudden understanding of why many women feel pressured to make the "problem" go away. Yes, the timing of this pregnancy wasn't ideal. But that wasn't the baby's fault. I knew, though, what goes through a woman's mind when she finds herself in a difficult situation. At that moment, I was thankful for right-to-life groups that affirm the value of the child.

Sarah Palin: Chose judges who were strict Constitutional constructionists

I then explained what I used as criteria for my judicial appointments, and that I chose judges who were strict constitutional constructionists, since those who were not often undermined public trust by making law from the hip.

"Alaska follows the Missouri Plan," I explained. That system of judicial appointments was designed to remove political biases from the process, but instead adds to it by limiting governors to a small group of appointees to choose from. The woman I nominated didn't pass the litmus test he wanted to apply, but the other guy wouldn't have passed it either.