Minnesota Anti-Choice Group Pulls Endorsement Over Health Care Reform

Like all the anti-abortion groups, MCCL is now pulling allegence from anti-choice Democrats to put party loyalty over their missions.

Anti-choice Democratic Congressman Jim Oberstar has been in the House for a very long time, and Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life has been endorsing him for a majority of it.  Almost since their inception in the late 60′s, MCCL has told their members to support Oberstar, who has had a consistent record in opposing abortion while serving in Congress.

But this year that has changed, and the group has put party affiliation first, cloaking their switch under the guise of health care reform being “anti-life.”

Via Fox News:

Says executive director, Scott Fischbach, “Years ago, Jim Oberstar was a sponsor of a human life amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  This election, he didn’t even fill out a candidate questionnaire.  That’s unconscionable.”

Counters Oberstar campaign spokesperson, John Schadl, “It (the questionnaire) assumed that health care legislation funded abortion.  Where, in fact, Congressman Oberstar worked very hard to make sure that no tax payer dollars to go fund abortion at all in this.”

 To be clear, the health care law does not allow for federally funded abortions.  Language in the bill, along with an executive order, states clearly that funding through tax credits and government subsidies for elective abortion services is prohibited.

The group has instead decided to endorse political newcomer and Republican Chip Cravaack. According to MCCL’s executive director:

“Chip Cravaack exemplifies everything the people of Minnesota’s 8th District look for in a candidate for Congress,” said MCCL Executive Director Scott Fischbach. “Cravaack has a passionate dedication to uphold the constitutional right to life and to protect our country’s most vulnerable citizens – the unborn.”

Yet, other than fundraising pleas, Cravaack hasn’t even been that enthusiastic on the abortion issue.  Even his own website says simply:

I believe that life begins at conception and ends at natural death.

I do not support embryonic stem cell research. I believe that adult stem cell research has shown great possibilities and one that does not trade one life to save another.

Not exactly the public face of the next champion of ending all forms of abortion.

But how enthusiastic is MCCL’s endorsement?  The release didn’t even make the front page of their website, instead relegated to the News Release Index page.  And although it made their associated blog, they did not even bother to link to the candidate’s website.