Washington D.C., Nov 6, 2007 / 18:18 pm
Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson, a Republican candidate for the presidential nomination, said on Sunday he does not fully support the pro-life plank of the Republican Party.
In an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press," Senator Thompson told the show's host Tim Russert that he favors overturning the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that compelled legalized abortion nationally. However, the senator said he himself does not favor criminalizing abortion at the state level.
"People ask me hypothetically, you know, OK, it goes back to the states," said Thompson. "Somebody comes up with a bill, and they say we're going to outlaw this, that, or the other. And my response was, I do not think it is a wise thing to criminalize young girls and perhaps their parents as ‘aiders and abettors’ or perhaps their family physician. And that's what you're talking about. It's not a sense of the Senate. You're talking about potential criminal law."
The Republican Party platform has for decades included pro-life language and support for a human life amendment providing legal protection for the unborn. Senator Thompson declared he could not support a human life amendment, according to Cybercast News Service.