President of the U.S., 1993-2001; Former Democratic Governor (AR)
1980s: pro-choice since Bible defines life starting at birth
Bill Clinton was struggling over the definition of human life. He asked his pastor, Vaught, whether he could provide some insight.
Vaught was one of the leading abortion opponents among Little Rock clergy, but he said he shared some of Clinton’s
ambivalence, having personally witnessed “some extremely difficult” pregnancies. He was not convinced that the Bible forbade abortion in all circumstances.
The minister went to his Bible to reconsider, after which Vaught determined that in the origina
Hebrew, “personhood” stemmed from words translated as “to breathe life into.” Thus, he averred, the Bible would define a person’s life as beginning at birth, with the first intake of breath. He reportedly told the governor that this did not mean that
abortion was right, but he felt one could not say definitively, based on Scripture, that it was murder.
In all of his discussions about abortion thereafter, Clinton relied on his minister’s interpretation to bolster his pro-choice position.
On the 4th day of the Clinton presidency, Jan. 23, the 20th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, Bill Clinton signed, in a televised Oval Office ceremony, a series of executive orders undoing the draconian policies of the Reagan-Bush era relating to abortion,
contraception, and family planning.
Hillary had pushed unequivocally for the orders, but Bill’s pollster argued that she was dead wrong on the timing of such a hot-button issue; by acting on abortion policy as one of the administration’s first pieces
of business, the president and, worse, Hillary, would be perceived as governing from the left. But Hillary regarded the prohibitions in question as a powerful symbol of
Reagan-era policies, and an opportunity to declare boldly that the Clinton era had begun. There was an additional appeal: it was fiscally neutral, monetarily cost-free, and not subject to a drawn-out legislative process.
Everyone knows life begins biologically at conception. No one knows when biology turns into humanity. Most abortions that don’t involve the life or health of the mother are chosen by scared young women and girls who don’t know what else to do. It’s hard
to apply the criminal law to acts that a substantial portion of the citizenry doesn’t believe should be labeled crimes, (as with Prohibition). I thought then [in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision] and still believe that the Court reached the right conclusion.
Source: My Life, by Bill Clinton, p.229
Jun 21, 2004
1993: allowed abortions on overseas U.S. military bases
Bill Clinton’s feminist cheerleaders and the abortion lobby had to wait only two days into the
Clinton presidency before a memorandum was issued allowing abortions on U.S. military bases overseas, another reversal of Reagan and Bush policy.
Source: The Final Days, by Barbara Olson, p. 79
Sep 25, 2003
Let women decide with their doctor and their God
Americans believe deeply in the need to keep government out of private, personal matters. That is one reason why I am pro-choice. I believe we should all work to reduce the number of abortions. That is why I have worked to reduce teen pregnancy,
remove barriers to cross-racial adoption, and provide tax credits to families willing to adopt. Still, I believe the ultimate choice should remain a matter for a woman to decide in consultation with her conscience, her doctor, and her God.
Source: Between Hope and History, by Bill Clinton, p.137
Jan 1, 1996
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