October 17, 2004

"Republican for Moore" Supports Partial Birth Abortion

also see Political Profile of "Republicans for Moore" 

Republicans for Moore

I would like to respond to a quote from "Election battle lines blur" (10/10, A-1) regarding the Republican vote in Mission Hills. The reporter writes, "On the Mission Hills side, ZIP codes encompassing Mission Hills and Hallbrook have remained firmly Republican."

It is true that many residents of Mission Hills and Hallbrook assume the Republican label, but many lifelong Republicans feel distanced from a party that has been hijacked by the evangelical Christian right wing.

Many registered Republicans in Mission Hills and Hallbrook have voted Democrat in post-primary elections but have remained registered Republicans to gain the right to vote in primaries in an attempt to keep far right-wing primary candidates from making it through the primaries. We work to ensure that moderate Republicans can win elections.

For that reason, Republicans for Dennis Moore - a moderate Democrat - is an organization that started two election cycles ago with two people and now has 900 names on its roster.

Penny Moeller
Mission Hills

Penny Moeller claims to be a "moderate" Republican voter and has been a Republican for Moore both in 2002 and 2004.  The Dennis Moore web site shows these Republicans for Moore Leaders in 2004:

AND, from a 2002 Moore press release:

According to Open Secrets, Penny Moeller was an early John Kerry supporter since she donated $250 to Kerry on March 24, 2004.  So, Moeller is also a "Republican for Kerry."

So what does Penny Stuber Moeller believe as a "moderate" Republican for Moore?  Her Nov 23, 2003 letter to the KC Star gives some insight:

Abortion rights

Bans on so-called "partial-birth abortion" are a deceptive and unconstitutional attempt to prohibit safe and common abortion procedures. These bans set a precedent for further political interference with doctor-patient relationships. They also place restrictions on women's constitutional rights.

Under the provisions in the new federal law (which has been declared temporarily unenforceable), Attorney General John Ashcroft has elevated the rights of a fetus above the rights of a woman. The far right has successfully taken the first step in its unyielding battle to unravel Roe v. Wade.

Abortion rights advocates believe these bans will lead to a U.S. Supreme Court battle that pits women's health advocates against the Bush administration. Anyone concerned with women's rights, general medical privacy and physicians' rights should hope the law will be declared unconstitutional.

Abortions should be safe, legal and rare. Most abortion rights advocates are not in favor of abortions; rather, they are simply in favor of a woman's right to make private medical decisions with the best medical advice and without political interference.

Penny Moeller
Mission Hills

How can even a "Republican for Moore" support such a grisly procedure that kills a viable baby?

What do "safe" and "rare"  mean when abortion clinics have fewer regulations than vet clinics, and abortion on demand as a form of contraception is available till the time a child is born?  (Kansas has one of the few third-trimester abortionists in the World.)

K a n s a s M e a d o w l a r k @ e f g 2 . c o m