Georgia Right to Life picks a fight with Karen Handel
Georgia Right to Life issued its endorsements in the Republican race for governor on Thursday – and picked a major fight with former secretary of state Karen Handel, the only woman in the contest.
The anti-abortion group gave five candidates its stamp of approval: state Sen. Jeff Chapman of Brunswick, former congressman Nathan Deal of Gainesville, former state senator Eric Johnson of Savannah, businessman Ray McBerry of McDonough, and state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine.
Republican candidate for governor Karen Handel
But in its press release this afternoon, GRTL placed most of its emphasis on the unendorsed GOP candidate:
“Ms. Handel proclaims herself pro-life; however, she does not meet the 21st century demands of being pro-life.” says Dan Becker, President of GRTL.
“For instance, Handel believes that a child may be aborted based on its manner of conception. When I asked her directly her thoughts on the value of embryos, she answered that she does not believe that an embryonic human is a child.”
Based on Ms. Handel’s own statements, she does not meet the GRTL PAC’s criteria and will not be endorsed in this primary election or the November election, without a change in her positions.
The Handel campaign declared Becker’s statement to be false:
In fact, Karen does believe that an embryonic human is a child. Further, no one ever asked Karen this question, and if they had, they would know this.
GRTL’s real problem with Karen is twofold: First, they disagree with her stance regarding exceptions to an abortion ban in cases of rape and incest.
Secondly, Karen opposes the group’s push to ban invitro fertilization, which has helped so many couples realize their dream of having children. The group has proposed legislation to virtually eliminate invitro.
In a meeting with Karen, the group’s leadership told her directly that fertility treatments are immoral and that their goal is to completely ban the procedure.
Becker, in turn, says that Handel is mischaracterizing his position. The GRTL president says his group has never taken the position that all invitro fertilization is immoral.
But his group has sponsored legislation that would limit the number of embryos produced by fertility clinics to only the number actually implanted in the mother.
It is a restriction opposed by fertility experts, who turned out at the state Capitol in 2009 to block the measure. Handel, too, is against the restrictions, campaign spokesman Dan McLagan said.
From a campaign press release:
“My husband Steve and I tried for nearly ten years to have children. It is the single greatest disappointment in my life, and I can say with certainty that no one in this race cherishes human life more than I do.
“I am saddened that this group would resort to fabricating quotes and distorting my beliefs. I shared very personal information with the group’s leadership, and they are well aware of my true beliefs. I am dismayed and very disappointed by their actions….
“Further, I am absolutely opposed to severely limiting fertility treatments, including invitro fertilization, and am saddened that my opponents appear to.
“Tens of thousands of couples have been able to have children through fertility assistance. Their lives have been blessed by miracle of birth and enriched by the blessings that children uniquely have added to their lives.”
This was the reply from Becker of GRTL on Wednesday afternoon, in a telephone interview:
“Someone’s desperate right to parenthood – because they’re infertile, they’re barren, whatever term you want to use – is an emotionally fraught subject that has our highest sympathy. But it should never be attempted to be addressed where a life is taken in the process.”
The confrontation was not unexpected. The Handel campaign was ready with an endorsement from Adrianne Susong, a former director of Georgia Right to Life.
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122 comments Add your comment
PoliticalOutsider
June 4th, 2010
10:02 am
Baaaaaaad news for Karen. And I’m a Karen supporter. This sucks
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
10:08 am
As I have said previously, i find it painfully ironic that those who were not aborted, think its OK for others. Abortion is murder for convenience, no less evil than murdering someone for their insurance payoff. Women want to talk the talk, but not walk the walk.
TisP'doff
June 4th, 2010
10:12 am
What a joke! The GRTL are without a doubt the biggest bunch of hippocrits there are. These people have endorsed pedophiles, rapists, and adulterers, just because they say they are pro life. Mrs. Handel, a woman, is not endorsed by the “man” leading this organization. When was the last time he was pregnant, carried a child, lost a child, or was unable to give birth to a child? What a stupid, ignorant, silly man. Character matters in my opinion and this group has none. They have engaged in pious fraud in the highest order.
Maybe Mr. GRTL will meet up with Ray McBerry and his newest 16 yo protege…. if he’s lucky, this young thing will have a sister for him. Mrs. Handel, it’s perfectly within reason for you to tell them to screw themselves… and the mule they rode in on.
John K
June 4th, 2010
10:19 am
“i find it painfully ironic that those who were not aborted, think its OK for others”
It’s only ironic if you don’t really understand irony.
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
10:42 am
Regarding college degrees & Harry S. Truman: He wanted to go to West Point, he did attend a college for 2 years in pursuit of a law degree. He had the talent & interest, but not the $$$. I consider a college degree essential for a candidate I would vote for, for Governor. Otherwise, that Governor will have a hard time pushing the incredible benefits of public education.
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
10:44 am
the only sane one – your failure to defend life, would indicate that you yourself would be fine if someone robbed you, shot you and left you for dead. How do you feel about that happening to you?
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
10:46 am
If you are Christian (can not speak for Hebrews), you should believe that conception is a blessed event. The actual pregnancy should be viewed as a holy benefit from the evil of rape or incest. If the victim does not wish to raise the child, then that child can be put up for adoption. Murdering the child in the name of eliminating discomfort of the rape victim fails to buttress morality. 2 wrongs do not make a right.
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
10:46 am
You should also not be so willing to interfere with the will of g-d.
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
10:48 am
intruder – you take grammar & vocab lessens from Obama? Obama “Law abiding citizens, whether they are illegal immigrants or naturalized citizens should not . . . ” A college degree does indicate brain capacity understanding, information processing and educational capacity.
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
10:52 am
jcon – you are not really this literally stupid are you? The belief that abortion is murder would indicate that those participating in the act are murderers, and indeed they are. The murder of the late term abortion doctor in Kansas could fairly easily be percieved by the perpetrator as an act of g-d. I personally did not weep for the abortion Dr. However, his murder was also evil. The ends do not justify the means, and I to not support utilitarianism.
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
10:54 am
TisP: What character are you talking about? Recreational fornication that leads to unwanted pregnancy, which in turn leads to the murder of the most vulnerable & innocent we have in society? What is more immoral – slavery or abortion?
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
10:56 am
John K – if it is not ironic, then is it hypocritical? How else do you explain this immoral position?
D-Boe
June 4th, 2010
10:57 am
These fools are for limited government until it comes to a woman’s body.
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
11:03 am
The privacy argument which is the foundation of the Supreme Court ruling that asserts that a genetically separate, temporary “parasite” that resides within a woman, can be summarily destroyed by that woman for convenience, is an error. Otherwise, the draft, which is summarily legal via its long term use, would also be unconstitutional. If the government can commander your body and expose you to bodily harm, it can certainly commander your body to prevent violence from being done. Therefore, the Roe V. Wade decision is an error.
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
11:04 am
If the ethical design of the American woman was such that abortion was rare, say in 1-5% of pregnancy, then most Americans would not kvetch. However, the annual rate of abortion is between 20 & 33%. It is being utilized as birth control for convenience.
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
11:06 am
The irony is that those who argue for abortion would not be able to do so if the procedure they support/advocate had been applied to them. Kapische?
John K
June 4th, 2010
11:07 am
The immoral position is dictating what a women is allowed to do with her body. And I see you mentioned adoption. How many have you adopted? Why aren’t our adoption agencies being put out of business by pro-lifers practicing what they preach. I hear “adoption not abortion.” It’s more like “don’t abort and leave the mother and child out in the cold.”
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
11:45 am
John K – so, it is immoral to say I can’t hunt you down and kill you? How friggin stupid are you? There is nothing immoral about the government preventing murder. You have a bad case of moral relativism, which is prevalent in woman and people raised by single women. Stop pretending you don’t understand that abortion is murder, and is morally repugnant. People do not constitute government to do for them what they have full capacity to do themselves. Unless of course you are a nanny-state paternalistic liberal. And the gross budget deficit we have run for the last 40 years indicates it is unsustainable.
John K
June 4th, 2010
11:52 am
You’re advocating for control of women’s bodies AND complaining about the nanny-state? LOL!!!!
John K
June 4th, 2010
11:58 am
Oh, and once again, since you must’ve missed it. How many kids have you adopted?
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
12:22 pm
You fail to think constructively, and also utterly miss the federal power of the military draft. The nanny state is what you advocate regarding “taking care” of a mother and her child after the birth of a child. IE, you think that an unmarried woman should replace the husband with a caring federal bureaucracy – lunacy. Simply banning abortion does not control a woman’s body – she is still in complete control. If she decides to fornicate recreationally, then she is fully aware of potential results – or are American women in reality that stupid & irresponsible? How is it relevant if I have adopted a child?
John K
June 4th, 2010
12:35 pm
That’s ok, if I were you I also wouldn’t want to admit I’m all talk-no action
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
12:39 pm
John – you are a smoke blowing schmuck. You also suffer from fuzzy thinking syndrome. You support the murder of innocent future humans. I don’t think you can advocate for anything more evil. Regarding this comment page – as opposed to what? How many abortions have you participated in?
Karen Handel snaps back at pro-lifers | Fresh Loaf
June 4th, 2010
12:54 pm
[...] gubernatorial candidate Karen Handel, if you haven’t already heard, is embroiled in a dust-up with Georgia Right to Life, the anti-abortion group that earlier this year pushed a heinous piece [...]
John K
June 4th, 2010
12:56 pm
I’m advocating choice, not abortions. What is your plan for the fetus post birth? A pat on your back? The look for more lives to control?
T Knight
June 4th, 2010
1:30 pm
As a woman, I am truly insulted when a man tries to tell me what to do with my body. I’ve never had an abortion, never would have one, but no man has the right to tell me what to do if I were faced with that horrible choice.
Mr. Grumpy
June 4th, 2010
1:31 pm
Paddy O–John K is telling you that you can’t take this high moral ground that says the abortion of an embryo is “murder” and then not address what to do about those unwanted children born into this world. Where’s your moral high ground when it comes to what happens to them? If GRTL advocates are so incensed by the “murder” of an embryo and are opposed to abortion under any circumstance, then they ought to be standing in line to adopt every child whose birth is not prevented by being aborted. It’s very easy to stand up and say “under no circumstance should any woman’s pregnancy be ended by an abortion,” and not go that extra distance and adopt children born into this world who are unwanted by the woman who carried that child to term. Why do you avoid answering John K’s fair question?
Droopy
June 4th, 2010
1:45 pm
Seems to be an argument on how many angels dance on the head of a pin…. What concerns me is what happens to these kids AFTER they’re born, especially those born into poverty… these unfortunates drop off the Christian lobbyists’ radar.
John Konop
June 4th, 2010
1:56 pm
Barnes has to be laughing at the GOP this election will be about jobs an education. Karen Handel is the best chance the GOP has and the fools on the hill are shooting at her. Gut level politics does not work with high unemployment and massive teacher lay-offs.
I am always cautious with people from the right and left who blindly know what is best for all!
GRTL NO exception rule on being PRO-LIFE!
Does that mean they are for tax payers paying for mandatory feeding for all the starving people in the world?
Does that mean they are for tax payers paying for mandatory healthcare for all the people who cannot afford it in the world?
Are GRTL calling for a ban on Intravaginal Insemination since eggs die in the process? Are you saying anyone who used this process to create life committed murder? What is the difference between IVI and stem-cell research that GRTL calls murder?
FultonRighty
June 4th, 2010
2:02 pm
to John K–you have a serious misunderstanding about adoption. There are about 2 million couples who would like to adopt. About 1.2 million abortions are done annually. About 6800 adoptions are completed that are from unmarried women entrusting their babies to people who are not their relatives. If you want to adopt a domestically born infant in this country, there are VERY few available.
There are older children, special needs children, sibling groups, etc. very available from the foster care system, however most of these children would probably be better parented by experienced parents. Infertility is not necessarily any prep for the bonding and other issues that kids out of foster care present.
We who are pro-life are absolutely committed to adoption as an excellent option for most unmarried unplanned pregnant girls/women. Adoption agencies are going out of business for lack of domestic birthmothers. International adoptions continue to grow, but the cost is very high to the agency as well as the prospective parents. Many if not most agencies are non-profit and need donations to stay in business, because they are committed to the birthmothers, regardless of whether she follows through with the adoption plan or not.
Think again, John K! The facts are not on your side of THAT argument.
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
2:58 pm
Mr. Grumpy – you full of it. It is not a fair question. To argue that abortion is moral because the children born are not unwanted – who is responsible for that? The Right to Life people? How about the girl who was pregnant? If you are not interested in children, don’t be fornicating. also, my understanding of adoption of babies, there is a long line – is that not correct? This is bait and switch, specious arguments from people who are ashamed that they advocate for the murder of the innocent. There is a solution – don’t fornicate, especially outside of marriage – or is that too high ground for moral relativists?
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
3:01 pm
Mr. Grumpy: I am not answering it because it is IRRELEVENT to the position that abortion is murder. What are you so vacillating about that position? Shame? Jaded?
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
3:04 pm
The honest solution is to reduce the amount of cheap premarital sex. But the government can not control that. It depends upon the character of the individual citizen. But by advocating choice (a nice word for saying I support the murder of the unborn – NOW, if you are not Christian, then you may not be an immoral hypocrit; however, if you are Christian, you have a serious deficiency in your faith), you are enabling cheap, recreational fornication – this is immoral, and as you can see, has lead to the murder of approximatlely 42 million future humans since 1973. Cause & affect.
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
3:05 pm
Also, I do see the medical need for abortion if the mother’s life is threatened.
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
3:07 pm
John K – this faux argument about control is precisely the example I gave before – does the government not have a law “controlling” me to prevent me from murdering you? The only control the government would have is a law “banning” abortion. That is not a great deal of actual control, is it? Compare the law banning abortion to the law creation the military draft – which one has more “control”?
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
3:08 pm
T Knight – how do you feel about a woman telling a man that he has to support her for so many years when they divorce?
John K
June 4th, 2010
3:14 pm
Sorry Righty,your point doesn’t hold up. There are children waiting to be adopted here in the US, just not as many Caucasian babies that those who are waiting want. (no, I’m not making this a race issue, that’s just fact).
It just really boils down to one fact: The pro-life’s desire to control women’s personal decision.
grizzybear
June 4th, 2010
3:17 pm
carol porter plays it safe only by sitting on the fence, she does not answer anything direct! she leans which ever way the wind blows!
Will Jones - Atlanta Jeffersonian Exegesis
June 4th, 2010
3:29 pm
For any patriots following this blog: The University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson, used to have an excellent database of his writings which could be thoroughly searched. It wasn’t exhaustive but it was extensive.
Virginia has now elected a Roman Catholic governor. The database has disappeared and been replaced by an enormously scaled down version “missing” the letter to Samuel Kercheval explaining why Rome is “the real Anti-Christ.”
It’s like watching a disease spreading across Our Nation with the Mafia-run Roman Catholic urban centers long gone.
Rome’s “Fifth Column” is pushing into the Heart of the South: the Black and White Baptists and Freemasons closest to the Spirit and blood that built America.
Paddy O is Rome’s frontman right here, suggesting that rape is “G-d’s will” and a conception from it “a holy benefit.”
Any question why America’s Founder called Paddy O’s masters “the real Anti-Christ” or why Roman Catholics want us to “unlearn” the prophetic, inspired wisdom which guided America’s anti-Roman Catholic, whig Founders away from the pedophile priesthood of Babylon?
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
10:46 am
If you are Christian (can not speak for Hebrews), you should believe that conception is a blessed event. The actual pregnancy should be viewed as a holy benefit from the evil of rape or incest. If the victim does not wish to raise the child, then that child can be put up for adoption. Murdering the child in the name of eliminating discomfort of the rape victim fails to buttress morality. 2 wrongs do not make a right.
———-followed by
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
10:46 am
You should also not be so willing to interfere with the will of g-d.
John K
June 4th, 2010
3:36 pm
oh, and the excuses for why there are children here that are not adopted is a poor cop out. Do you not believe these children are worthy of homes? Studies have shown that gay couples are more willing, and very capable of raising children with various issues. But many who are in the pro-life camp won’t let these couples adopt, preferring the children remain without a loving family.
T Knight
June 4th, 2010
4:01 pm
Paddy O…. anything we accumulated during our marriage I would expect to be equally divided. Is there a problem with that?
FultonRighty
June 4th, 2010
4:41 pm
John K where are you getting your info from??? Gay people are adopting, and there are thousands of people willing to adopt mixed race, African American and every other ethnicity of baby. The shortage of adoptive parents is in the older kid, special needs, sibling group, etc. out of foster care. Thankfully in Colorado and Georgia there are big initiatives developing in churches to support fostering and fostering to adopt.
My husband and i have 2 adopted kids, and talk with couples all the time frustrated by the impossibility of finding a baby to adopt, or who have great difficulty coming up with the money if there were one–agencies have to charge to cover the girls’ expenses whether they follow through or not with the adoption. Attorneys are expensive. Hospital care is expensive. Our church is doing some “scholarshipping” to help with that, but it is rare. The issue is NOT lack of adoptive parents; it is that so many girls/women are choosing abortion or fatherlessness for their babies.
ga female
June 4th, 2010
4:47 pm
Wake up you male hypocrates, I can easily tell you that 40-60% of the 35-55 year old White Females in this State have realy had an abortion. Sure they will not admitt it, they had a D&C or a miscarriage. But I will tell you that when you talk realistically among women friends and they one on one admit the truth, this is the truth.
There are more Women voters and although we do favor life, we give birth to children. We know the dramatic demands a pregnancy puts on someones body. No one could ever ask a women let alone a child to carry for 10 months a rapists child ( that is abuse). Women do not want anyone telling them what to do with their bodies or the bodies of their daughters.
These Rightwing nuts, who want less government intervention are such hypocrates, thinking the government should regulate a woman’s body or right to abortion and now to invitro reproduction. Lets out law Viagra, Cialas, and make sure insurance companies, especially Medicare and Medicaid do not pay for that.
I will now cross parties and Vote for Karen Handel. All these Republican men are worse than Sonny. Then We need Roy and Carol Porter to Win along with a Democratic sweep of all the rest of the races. The Republicans have destroyed Georgia in 7 years.
FultonRighty
June 4th, 2010
4:58 pm
to ga female– I sure agree with you about Viagra/Cialas coverage!!!!! But if abortion were good for your friends and no big deal, why do they not freely talk about it? Why is there any shame if all they got removed was no more significant than an appendix or tonsils? i.e. if there is no baby
And why do polls show that women are more pro-life than men? And why are some of the most ardent supporters of life women who have had abortions and women who have participated in them as nurses? There is help and healing for post-abortive women, and they are finally speaking out. see the video at http://www.silentnomoreawareness.org or http://www.toomanyaborted.com/?page_id=417
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
5:02 pm
T Knight – I would concur with your statement. You have credibility. Please continue to argue your perspective. I just do not agree this is a male – female problem. It is an ethical problem. Ask yourself: what is more evil – slavery or abortion? (both are wrong)
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
5:03 pm
Apparently, Will JOnes can not read a simple sentence – the rape itself is not of g-ds will. The conception of a child is. He seems to confuse the location of the vatican in Italy with the Italian mafia, but morons will make up fiction to support their theories.
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
5:05 pm
T. Knight – NO. But I know many woman who demand that the male “support them in the manner they have been accustomed to living in”. There is no foundation for this extortion (unless of course she is divorcing the male due to physical abuse). Even then, that support should terminate after 5 or so years.
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
5:07 pm
Another odd tenet of Catholicism is the free will basis, but the jealous will wallow in their bitterness.
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
5:11 pm
If I was running, I would not care for ga females vote. She advocates for the murder of the unborn – she is the mouthpiece of Lucifer – follow her lead at your own peril. She fabricates psuedo “abuse” (pregnancy) because of the emotional toll it will inflict on the rape victim. This is unfortunate, but not as harsh as being drafted and having lived through a year in Viet Nam, or four years fighting the German army. Perhaps women are the weaker sex.
Paddy O
June 4th, 2010
5:13 pm
ga fem – I guess it is not surprising, that since she is voting democrat in the November election, she will strive to manipulate the republican primary. Strategic voting.