In her series of interviews with Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin, CBS News anchor Katie Couric pressed both vice presidential candidates for their views on abortion and Roe v. Wade. (He’s pro-choice; she pro-life.) Couric also asked Palin about whether or not she supports contraception and the morning-after pill. But Palin’s answers in the Couric interview, and her past positions on these issues, have been contradictory. It wouldn’t be surprising to see moderator Gwen Ifill bring up abortion, contraception and sex-ed tonight.

 

Photo by Tom LeGro, NewsHour

Photo by Tom LeGro, NewsHour

Both Democrats and Republicans say they want to reduce the number of abortions, but so far in the campaign, neither Biden nor Palin has been subjected to a grilling on what both sides agree is one of the best ways to do that for teens: sex-ed. Although Biden did vote in favor of funding abstinence-only programs, he has voted more often to support comprehensive sex-ed and contraception programs. Despite his vote for the partial-birth abortion ban, Biden’s mostly pro-choice status has earned him near 100 percent support of NARAL Pro-Choice America and a zero rating from the National Right to Life Committee.

 

Palin’s prominent pro-life statements have earned her the adoration of social conservatives who proudly point to her personal commitment to the position, including her decision to have a Downs Syndrome baby and her unmarried teenage daughter’s decision to go through with her pregnancy. But although Palin’s positions are clear on the surface, they become murky when examined closely.

For example, Palin told Katie Couric that she wouldn’t want anyone to go to jail for getting an abortion, a position that is inconsistent with the pro-life goal of making abortion illegal. When running for governor she answered a candidate questionnaire that asked: “Will you support funding for abstinence-until-marriage education instead of for explicit sex-education programs, school-based clinics, and the distribution of contraceptives in schools?”
Her answer: “Yes, the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support.”

But as the Los Angeles Times reported last month, Palin said in an Alaska debate “I’m pro-contraception, and I think kids who may not hear about it at home should hear about it in other avenues.” The problem is that abstinence-only sex-ed programs funded by the federal government, the programs she has said she supported, and that are part of the Republican Party platform, specifically prohibit promotion of condoms and contraception. In fact, they have been accused of giving false and misleading information about the efficacy of condoms and contraception. So which is it?

No matter what Palin says on the subject of abortion, even if she appears to soften slightly on the issues of contraception or sex-ed, social conservatives will probably not fall out of love with her. But some pro-choice Republicans and independents might get turned off if she sticks to the most conservative positions she’s taken.

McCain certainly hoped to appeal to women voters with his choice of Palin, but when it comes to reproductive rights, her pro-life stance is not so popular. In September, a Gallup Poll found that most women voters are pro-choice (50 percent to 43 percent), but independents are more strongly pro-choice (51 percent to 40 percent), and that independents support Obama and Biden over McCain and Palin by 50 percent to 36 percent. McCain and Palin can take some comfort in Gallup’s findings that abortion is only one of many important factors that most Americans (men and women) are considering; only 13 percent of respondents said the candidate they vote for must share their views on abortion.