National Right to Life Committee defends Brownback's talks with Giuliani on abortion views

The National Right to Life Committee recently defended Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) after he was criticized for meeting with former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, to discuss Giuliani's views on abortion, The Hill reports (Bolton, The Hill, 10/26).

Brownback last week said he is "much more comfortable" with Giuliani's position on abortion after meeting with him in Washington, D.C. Brownback withdrew from the presidential race earlier this month, and some of the Republican candidates have been seeking his endorsement (Kaiser Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 10/30).

Criticism Against Brownback, NRLC Letter
NRLC in a letter sent to Brownback on Friday pledged to continue supporting him as a leading antiabortion-rights advocate whether he decides to endorse Giuliani for the Republican presidential nomination, The Hill reports. The letter was sent after James Bopp -- general counsel for NRLC and a prominent legal advocate for conservative antiabortion groups -- criticized Brownback over the meeting. Bopp is a volunteer for the presidential campaign of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R).

"Brownback is angling for some personal political benefit by cozying up to Giuliani," Bopp told the blog "Talking Points Memo." Bopp also suggested that Brownback was being partial by meeting with Giuliani and not Romney, adding that his meeting with Giuliani was "surprising in light of his unwillingness to accept Romney's conversion" on abortion issues, "which happened several years ago. Now he's willing to accept Giuliani's statements of the last day or so."

NRLC said that Bopp's remarks, "if accurately reported, do not represent National Right to Life, and we disagree with them." In comments directed toward Brownback, the group said, "All of us who know you personally recognize that your commitment to the pro-life cause is deep and heartfelt. We know this because we have worked shoulder to shoulder with you on such important pro-life issues," including so-called "partial-birth abortion, fetal pain, ultrasound and human cloning." The letter added, "We reject emphatically anyone's suggestion that you have sacrificed or would sacrifice the interests of the unborn in order to garner some 'personal political benefit.'"

Reaction
David O'Steen, executive director of NRLC, said that the purpose of the letter was to clarify that the group does not endorse Bopp's comments. "We wanted to clarify that we have utmost confidence in Mr. Brownback's integrity," he said. O'Steen added that Brownback is a "leader of the pro-life movement because he's taken a leadership role in promoting pro-life policies and leadership positions" and that there is no reason why a meeting or an endorsement would undermine that role. If Brownback supports Giuliani, he "can still support pro-life legislation," O'Steen said. Despite his remarks, O'Steen said he could not see NRLC endorsing Giuliani for president. A senior campaign aide to Brownback said that Brownback meant "nothing more and nothing less" when he offered to meet with all of the Republican presidential candidates (The Hill, 10/30).