To view the Candidate Questionaire Responses for November 2008, click here.
The purpose of our survey is to ask questions that clarify what candidates understand about the sanctity of human life and the duty of and restrictions on the authority of government. The reasoning behind the questions follows:
- Do you consider yourself Pro-Life?
This self-evaluation question had all positive responses, even from a candidate who stated that babies do not become members of the human family until they are born and that there is no contradiction between being pro-abortion and pro-life.
- Do you agree with the following statements?
- The primary duty of government is to protect the inalienable right to life given by the Creator.
- And, the U.S. Constitution states that no person can be deprived of his right to life except by due process of law. Thus, no government has the authority to declare any part of the human family to be non-persons.
This two part question sets forth the basic pro-life position: Government has the duty to protect the inalienable right to life of every person; it does not have the authority to declare any part of the human family to be a non-person.
- Is the sanctity of human life a foundational principle, or is it one among many issues of equal importance?
If it is the duty of government to protect the right to life; than it must be a foundational principle. If the sanctity of human life is just an issue, it is not the primary duty of government.
- Does your stand on the sanctity of human life take precedence over loyalty to your political party?
Again, if the duty of government to protect the right to life is a foundational principle it must take precedence over loyalty to a political party. If the party takes precedence, then the sanctity of human life is just an issue and not a duty of government to protect.
- Would you endorse a pro-choice candidate who is running against a pro-life candidate?
This is the rubber-meets-the-road question. A politician can be theoretically pro-life and answer the previous three questions correctly, but this is a question regarding action.If a politician cannot answer with a “no” here, it is usually because he will always vote for his party’s candidate, putting party loyalty before the sanctity of human life. He may also make references to other beliefs or issues, which reduces the sanctity of human life to being just another issue, not a foundational principle and thus not a duty of government.
- At what stage of development did we become persons?
An answer other than “single cell”, “at fertilization”, or “at conception ‘ indicates that the candidate believes government has the authority to declare some members of the human family to be non-persons.
- Do you want Roe v Wade and Doe v Bolton to be overturned?
These are the Supreme Court decisions in which the Court overstepped its authority and declared babies in the womb to be non-persons.
- Will you support a pro-life constitutional amendment, state and/or federal, upholding the sanctity of life from single cell stage of development* to natural death?
A state constitutional amendment, like the personhood amendment on the Colorado ballot this year, might give the Supreme Court the opportunity to overturn Roe v Wade and Doe v Bolton. The only sure way to preserve everyone’s right to life is to pass a Federal Constitutional amendment, ensuring that no branch of government tries to deny any part of the human family’s right to life.
- Will you support federal and/or state efforts to ban:
- Late term abortions?
- Embryonic stem cell research?
This last two-part question is again probing the candidate’s understanding of the humanity of the preborn child at all stages of development.
Late term abortions are hideous, akin to infanticide. Embryonic stem cell research murders a little one at the very beginning of his or her life. It is also hideous.
