[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 28, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E685-E686]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      MS. HUGHES SHOULD APOLOGIZE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 28, 2004

  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, I submit the following for the Record.

                                Congress of the United States,

                                   Washington, DC, April 27, 2004.
     President George W. Bush,
     The White House,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. President: We are writing out of great concern 
     about comments made by one of your top campaign advisors 
     regarding a woman's right to choose. In a live interview on 
     CNN, Karen Hughes made the following statement:
       ``I think after September 11th the American people are 
     valuing life more and realizing that we need policies to 
     value the dignity and worth of every life.
       ``And President Bush has worked to say, let's be 
     reasonable, let's work to value life, let's try to reduce the 
     number of abortions, let's increase adoptions.
       ``And I think those are the kind of policies that the 
     American people can support, particularly at a time when 
     we're facing an enemy, and really the fundamental difference 
     between us and the terror network we fight is that we value 
     every life. It's the founding conviction of our country, that 
     we're endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, 
     the right to life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
       ``Unfortunately our enemies in the terror network, as we're 
     seeing repeatedly in the headlines these days, don't value 
     any life, not even the innocent and not even their own.'' 
     (CNN Late Edition, April 25, 2004)
       By claiming that those who ``value life'' want to reduce 
     abortions, then going on to say that the difference between 
     us and the terrorists is that ``we value every life,'' Ms. 
     Hughes's argument sounds a lot like an effort to equate those 
     who are pro-choice with terrorists. This is a dangerous, ugly 
     and slanderous argument that has no place in our nation's 
     political discourse. To draw even a remote comparison between 
     any law-abiding, patriotic American and the terrorists, whose 
     goal is to wipe our country off the map, is not only 
     insulting to law-abiding Americans, it shows particular 
     disrespect to the victims of 9/11 and their families.
       Mr. President, you came to office by promising to be ``a 
     uniter, not a divider.'' Your aide's comments have the 
     potential to be extremely divisive by invoking the War on 
     Terrorism. It is cheap and distasteful politics, and we ask 
     you to take a stand against it.
       We urge you to have Ms. Hughes apologize for her comments. 
     We urge you to clarify for the public that reproductive 
     choice and terrorism are completely unrelated issues and that 
     all Americans, regardless of their beliefs about a woman's 
     right to choose, are united against the terrorists. This is 
     important for the unity of our country and its political 
     discourse. We know you will take proper action.
           Sincerely,
         Carolyn B. Maloney, Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Sheila 
           Jackson-Lee, Hilda Solis, Jan Schakowsky, Tammy 
           Baldwin, Jerrold Nadler, Barbara Lee, Raul M. Grijalva.
                                  ____
                                  

                       [From the Washington Post]

            Hughes Defends Remarks on Abortion Rights March

                             (By Dan Balz)

       Presidential adviser Karen Hughes responded yesterday to 
     criticism that, in a television interview, she had compared 
     participants in Sunday's abortion rights march in Washington 
     to terrorists, calling that interpretation ``a gross 
     distortion'' of her remarks.
       Hughes's original comments, during an interview Sunday on 
     CNN as the march was forming, drew criticism yesterday from a 
     feminist leader and a House member from New York.
       Asked by host Wolf Blitzer how big an issue she thought 
     abortion would be in this year's presidential election, 
     Hughes responded: ``Well, Wolf, it's always an issue. And I 
     frankly think it's changing somewhat. I think after September 
     11th the American people are valuing life more and realizing 
     that we need policies to value the dignity and worth of every 
     life.''
       The former White House counselor then noted that President 
     Bush has urged Americans to ``be reasonable'' about the issue 
     and to encourage a reduction in the number of abortions 
     performed each year in a variety of ways, including by 
     encouraging more adoptions.
       ``And I think those are the kind of policies that the 
     American people can support, particularly at a time when 
     we're facing an enemy, and really the fundamental difference 
     between us and the terror network we fight is that we value 
     every life,'' she added. ``It's the founding conviction of 
     our country, that we're endowed by our creator with certain 
     unalienable rights, the right to life and liberty and the 
     pursuit of happiness. Unfortunately our enemies in the terror 
     network, as we're seeing repeatedly in the headlines these 
     days, don't value any life, not even the innocent and not 
     even their own.''
       Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority, 
     condemned the comments as ``cynical, ugly and mean-spirited'' 
     and urged Hughes to clarify or take back what she said. Rep. 
     Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.) issued a statement expressing shock 
     that Hughes ``compared the 9/11 terrorists to Americans who 
     marched on the Mall'' on Sunday. ``It's outrageous to use the 
     tragic events of 9/11 to demonize the pro-choice movement,'' 
     he said.
       Asked for her response yesterday, Hughes sent an e-mail 
     saying, ``That is a gross distortion and I would never make 
     such a comparison. Surely even the most strident of

[[Page E686]]

     partisans, and reasonable people on both sides of the 
     abortion issue, can agree that we have been reminded of the 
     precious nature of human life and that we ought to work to 
     reduce the number of abortions in America.''

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