Fred Thompson Gets National Right to Life Endorsement - Why?

As you may have heard, Fred Thompson recieved the endorsement of National Right to Life. It's puzzling to me and other Duncan Hunter supporters because Duncan Hunter is clearly the msot pro-life candidate in the race.

Duncan Hunter On Abortion

Good day for America when Roe v. Wade is repealed. (May 2007)
Adult stem cell research instead of embryonic stem cells. (May 2007)
Voted NO on expanding research to more embryonic stem cell lines. (Jan 2007)
Voted NO on allowing human embryonic stem cell research. (May 2005)
Voted YES on restricting interstate transport of minors to get abortions. (Apr 2005)
Voted YES on making it a crime to harm a fetus during another crime. (Feb 2004)
Voted YES on banning partial-birth abortion except to save mother’s life. (Oct 2003)
Voted YES on forbidding human cloning for reproduction & medical research. (Feb 2003)
Voted YES on funding for health providers who don't provide abortion info. (Sep 2002)
Voted YES on banning Family Planning funding in US aid abroad. (May 2001)
Voted YES on federal crime to harm fetus while committing other crimes. (Apr 2001)
Voted YES on banning partial-birth abortions. (Apr 2000)
Voted YES on barring transporting minors to get an abortion. (Jun 1999)
Rated 0% by NARAL, indicating a pro-life voting record. (Dec 2003)

(http://www.ontheissues.org/CA/Duncan_Hunter.htm)

Fred Thompson On Abortion

Roe v. Wade was bad law and bad science. (Jun 2007)
Appoint strict constructionist judges. (Jun 2007)
Has never been pro-choice despite 1994 news reports. (Jun 2007)
Voted YES on maintaining ban on Military Base Abortions. (Jun 2000)
Voted YES on banning partial birth abortions. (Oct 1999)
Voted YES on banning human cloning. (Feb 1998)

(http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/Fred_Thompson.htm)

Duncan Hunter On Abortion

Life

Right to Life Amendment
I would amend the U.S. Constitution and provide blanket protection to all unborn children from the moment of conception by prohibiting any state or federal law that denies the personhood of the unborn. Likewise, I have also introduced the Right to Life Act, which would legally define “personhood” as the moment of conception and, therefore, guarantee all constitutional rights and protections, including life, to the unborn without utilizing a constitutional amendment.

Philosophy of Judicial Appointments
I support people with good judgment, proven values, a belief in God, and a heart for the least of us, including the unborn. I believe it is important that those sitting on the bench understand that they have a responsibility to strictly interpret our nation’s laws and not legislate from the bench with their own political or social agenda. I will not appoint judges who do not believe that the unborn are precious and should be protected.

Federal Legislation and Votes
I have cosponsored the following pieces of legislation:

· The Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, which would amend the federal criminal code to prohibit transporting a minor across state lines to obtain an abortion, if this action circumvents the minor's native state's parental involvement law. I voted in favor of this bill when it passed the House 270-157 on April 27, 2005.
· The Human Cloning Prohibition Act of 2005, which would prohibit and criminalize efforts at reproductive cloning.
· The Parent's Right to Know Act of 2005, which would prohibit federal funding to carry out federal family planning programs in which service providers in the project knowingly provides contraceptive drugs or devices to a minor, except in specific circumstances.
· The Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act of 2006, which would require abortion providers to notify women who want to have an abortion 20 weeks after fertilization that the evidence suggests their unborn child feels pain and they may request anesthesia for their unborn child in order to reduce or eliminate the pain.

I have also supported human life protection efforts with the following votes:

· I supported the Fetus Farming Prohibition Act, banning the practice of fetal farming, the creation of embryos specifically for the purposes of scientific research.
· I voted in favor of the Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act, which would direct federal funding to stem-cell research that does not rely on embryos.
· I voted against the Stem-Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005, which would have directed the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct and support research that utilizes human embryonic stem-cells, regardless of the date on which the stem-cells were derived from a human embryo.
· I voted against amendments offered to the National Defense Authorization Act permitting taxpayer funded military facilities overseas to be used to support abortions on demand for military women and military dependents.
· I voted against amendments providing UN funding to groups that support coercive abortion programs.

Fred Thompson On Abortion

(This is all I could find from his issues page. I did not see a specific Life category as I saw on Duncan Hunter's page)

Using the Presidency to encourage policies that promote a culture of life, strengthen the institution of marriage and traditional families, and advance freedom of religion.

Activist judges across the country seem intent on legislating from the bench to promote a culture of abortion, redefine marriage, and undermine families—in effect re-shaping the values of our entire society without the consent of the people. We need judges who recognize their role in our democracy is to interpret, not make, the law. I am committed to:

Appointing strict constructionist judges who will interpret the law, not impose their views on us by legislating from the bench.

http://www.fred08.com/Principles/PrinciplesSummary.aspx?View=OnTheIssues

Note: Fred Thompson does not support a Human Life Amendment to protect life across the nation. He only supports overturning Roe vs. Wade and giving the abortion decision back to the states. This means it would be permissible to abort a child in New York but not in South Dakota. Not only does Duncan Hunter support a Human Life Amendment, he is the author of the Life At Conception Act which would recongize the personhood of the unborn child at conception, and the unborn child would then be protected under the Preamble, 5th, and 14th Amendments of our Constitution. Justice Blackmun, the author of the majority opinion in Roe vs. Wade, said " The appellee and certain amici argue that the fetus is a "person" within the language and meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment. In support of this, they outline at length and in detail the well-known facts of fetal development. If this suggestion of personhood is established, the appellant's case, of course, collapses, [*157] for the fetus' right to life would then be guaranteed specifically by the Amendment. " Fred Thompson claims he is a Federalist, and abortion is something that should be decided by the states. The goal of our nation is to protect the life, liberty, and happiness of every person from sea to shining sea. Our Declaration of Independence says that is why this nation was established. How is it ok to permit some states to violate the right to life? It would be the moral equivalent of saying certain states can declare blacks 3/5th persons able to be slaves if they so choose.

Duncan Hunter supported the decision of the federal government to intervene in order to save Terri Schaivo. Why? Florida was violating the right to life it is supposed to Constitutionally protect, so the federal government had the right to step in. Unfortunately, the federal government ultimately decided Florida could dehydrate Schaivo to death. Fred never supported the federal government stepping in in the first place. Like I said, if a state is violating the Constitutional right to life, the federal government has a right to step in. This is a good article.

Fred Thompson looked much too relaxed on Sunday’s “Meet the Press” interview with Tim Russert. He was nonchalant to the point of apathy about one of his key supporters being a convicted drug trafficker and his positions on rights for the unborn and the disabled were embarrassing in their lack of intellectual depth.

Thompson has to know his days are numbered as a presidential candidate. Indeed, he is now in hot water for joking to Carl Cameron of Fox News that he has doubts about his own candidacy.

The “Meet the Press” appearance, however, was more of a disaster than most people realize because the major media still distort the facts surrounding the controversial Terri Schiavo right-to-life case. Russert had asked Thompson questions about the case. Thompson, in his answers, sounded as if he believed that her family had been united in favor of starving her to death when in fact her parents had wanted to keep her alive and care for her. It’s a crime that she was killed. It is so twisted and cruel in America today that, during the two weeks that Terri was being starved to death, her mother could have been arrested and charged with a crime for giving her a drop of water.

(excerpt...see http://www.aim.org/aim_column/5889_0_3_0/)

In general, National Right to Life's decision puzzles me. We know National Right to Life supports a Human Life Amendment, ending abortion, and protecting life at all stages, so why not pick the best candidate to do this? The best candidate is Duncan Hunter.