Media speculation on the person Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will select as his vice-presidential running mate reached a fever pitch with media outlets, led by the Drudge Report, guessing it will be Bush defense official Condoleezza Rice.
However, pro-life advocates would reject the selection because Rice has continuously defended her stance supporting legal abortions.
Rice has said that abortion should be “as rare a circumstance as possible,” but added that government should not interfere, according to a Washington Times interview.
“We should not have the federal government in a position where it is forcing its views on one side or the other,” she has said. “So, for instance, I’ve tended to agree with those who do not favor federal funding for abortion, because I believe that those who hold a strong moral view on the other side should not be forced to fund it.”
But she called pro-life people, “the other side,” and explained how she has a “mildly pro-choice” view that makes her essentially one who is “in effect kind of libertarian on this issue”
“I have been concerned about a government role,” she told the Times, “I am a strong proponent of parental notification. I am a strong proponent of a ban on late-term abortion. These are all things that I think unite people and I think that that’s where we should be. We ought to have a culture that says, ‘Who wants to have an abortion? Who wants to see a daughter or a friend or a sibling go through something like that?’”
Later, Rice said in 2008 in a 60 Minutes interview: “I myself am someone who believes strongly in parental notification. … I’m against late-term abortion, which is, I think, really very cruel.” But, Rice added, “I have not wanted to see the law changed because it’s an area that I worry about the government being involved in.”
Rice’s chief of staff indicates she is not interested in the vice-presidential slot. As Yahoo News reports:
Rice has previously said she would not consider the job. “There is no way that I will do this,” Rice told CBS News in June when asked if she would agree to joining the Republican ticket. Despite Thursday’s report, she’s sticking to her word, says Georgia Godfrey, Rice’s chief of staff.
In response to reports that the Romney campaign may be considering former Secretary Condoleezza Rice as a potential running mate, Susan B. Anthony List President Marjorie Dannenfelser said: “Former Secretary Rice’s position on the sanctity of human life makes her an unqualified candidate for Governor Romney to choose as a running mate. Throughout the campaign, including at the Palmetto Freedom Forum last September, he has pledged to us in no uncertain terms that he would choose a pro-life running mate. We have taken Governor Romney at his word and therefore believe Secretary Rice will be ruled out of consideration. Secretary Rice’s position violates criteria that Governor Romney himself has laid out.”
Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council previously said Rice is a non-starter for a vice-presidential pick.
“Although she has credentials on national defense, the former Secretary of State has long held pro-abortion views, which makes her a non-starter with social conservatives,” he said.
