(CNN) - One month after sparking a controversy over his stance against abortion rights, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is signing a leading social conservative group's anti-abortion pledge.
Tuesday the businessman and former Godfather's Pizza CEO and radio talk show host put his name to the Susan B. Anthony List's "Pro-Life Presidential Leadership Pledge."
Programming note: GOP presidential candidates face off at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday, November 22, in the CNN Republican National Security Debate in Washington, D.C.
"This decision is consistent with the Herman Cain we have come to know," Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA List, said in a statement. "He understands the wound abortion is to America and especially to the most vulnerable among us."
Cain stirred controversy last month in an interview on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight." He said he was against abortion rights, but when asked about rape or incest, Cain said the government shouldn't have a say on those issues and the decision should be left to the family.
Some social conservatives slammed Cain for his remarks in the following days, prompting him to be much more vocal about his "pro-life" positions during campaign stops and interviews over the weekend.
In addition to Cain, Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania have also signed the pledge. Rep. Thad McCotter of Michigan and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty also signed, but they have since dropped their bids for the GOP presidential nomination.
The Susan B. Anthony List says their pledge asks declared presidential candidates to commit to four key pro-life goals if elected to the presidency in 2012:
FIRST, to nominate to the U.S. federal bench judges who are committed to restraint and applying the original meaning of the Constitution, not legislating from the bench;
SECOND, to select only pro-life appointees for relevant Cabinet and Executive Branch positions, in particular the head of National Institutes of Health, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Health & Human Services;
THIRD, to advance pro-life legislation to permanently end all taxpayer funding of abortion in all domestic and international spending programs, and defund Planned Parenthood and all other contractors and recipients of federal funds with affiliates that perform or fund abortions;
FOURTH, advance and sign into law a Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act to protect unborn children who are capable of feeling pain from abortion.
Also see:
Cain, Paul crossed off for Iowa group's pres. endorsement
Who can make a difference in New Hampshire?
From CNN Politics
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
| Advertising practices | Advertise with us | About us | Work for us | Help
And his assault on women continues...
FIFTH, To uphold the Death Penalty for all offenders, except those convicted of bombing an abortion clinic.
I just love how men continue to think they can control women and the decisions they have to make. Why not just castrate all men so there is no abortion decision to be made.
Here we go with another pledge. Okay Marjorie Dannenfelser since you hate making choices for yourself as a woman, how about you quit working, take your butt home, get dinner ready and served, be a good little housewife and only speak when spoke to. As matter of fact, how about coveign yourself from head to toe and only your eyes can show. And if us men do allow you to work, you are only allowed to make 1/4 of what we make. As a matter of fact, how about any woman that cannot or choses not tyo bear children be stoned to death? You ignorant pledge sounds about as stupid as what i typed. Moron!
How many of you think that Mr. Cain knows what he signed, or even meaninglyfully read it beforehand?
How long do you think it will take for Mr. Cain to say something that contradicts the pledge?
Out of ALL the people to sign this ridiculous pledge, you guys come up with Herman (Where are the white women at) Cain?
Just when you thought that these clowns couldn't be made to look any more ridiculous...they top themselves.
"Why not just castrate all men so there is no abortion decision to be made."
Yes...winning the humnan race a Darwin Award is a perfect idea. We're already working on it via the environment, so why not add some nutjob reproductive mayhem to it too?
if these Republicans were as good at signing and creating jobs bills as they are these dumb pledges then our country might be in better shape than it is now.
Question: If it's 'sinful' for women to practice birth control because it prevents conception and there's even talk about civil or criminal penalties for women to use contraception or undergo an abortion, shouldn't it also be 'sinful' for men to get vasectomies? It definitely prevents conception. But you don't hear a whisper out there in Hypocriteland do you???
Seems to me that ALL of the GOP Clowns on Parade have one thing in common with Mittens the Flipper: they will sign and say ANYTHING to win whatever election they are running in. Regardless of whether they believe in it or not.
No ethics,no integrity, no principle is beyond the realm of being bought and compromised for these jokers if it will get them one more vote.
Pro-fetus is NOT pro-life. These people are not pro-life. They applaud wars and cheer the death penalty (even when the convicted is innocent) and favor sick people dying because they're poor rather than spend anything to help them out. They are against a health care law that is saving lives and against corporate regulations that make life safer. They are ANTI-LIFE in all instances outside of the uterus.
@ a in austin
I totally agree with you
With so much energy going into signing pledges (from special interest fringe groups) that don't deal in reality, who has time to pledge allegiance to the U.S.?
Keep marketing yourself Cain so when you do drop out of the presidential race, you still have a fan base to sell books to.
The Susan B. Anthony Anti-Abortion List, huh? Just another Republican generated oxymoron being floated by a group long mastering oxymoronic deceit.
Is this the guy who very clearly just a week or so ago said "It's her choice"??? Why are social conservatives so anxious to vote for someone who pretends to be who they want them to be? Pretend your a Christian. Prentend to be pro-life. Pretend to have family values. The truth doesn't matter. That explains why they are frequently disappointed by their elected representatives.
Hay stupid,I guess you can count those clowns votes, but you just lost the 99% of the rest of us that do sign pledges to special interest of any kind. There should be a law that any politian that signed pledges to any special interest is unworthy to hold public office. How many pledges have these teapublican baffoons signed already and to whom.
Signing a pledge is anti-American! Once you are in the White House, you represent ALL Americans! Any candidate who signs any type of pledge before going into office or while in office, should be impeached. The ONLY pledge that they should be held to is their oath of office! Anything else is self-interest! Just remember that all voters!
This is so they have a cheap work force for the future of the Koch brothers!! These unwanted children will be glad to work for the $2 an hour the corps will be paying them. No unions No medical No education No support...Good Grief. This is what the GOP is hoping to do to our country.
That was a huge mistake.
I will not support candidates who sign pledges that infringe on the human rights of people.
@a in austin-I've been thinking the same thing for a very long time! Kinda like taking a vaccine to eliminate the disease.
This is exactly the sort of person that should not ever be elected to any office, no matter how small. When you sign these pledges you are saying that you will do what the special interest group wants. Further, a candidate like this is saying they are unwilling to compromise, unwilling to question their selves and their stances. It is people like this getting into office that got our country into the mess it is in.
What a dumb fart. How batshlt crazy is this election going to be next year with all these bogus pledges. If we were an undereducated electorate, we might just let them drive us off a cliff.
Cain, dude, do you think we are more stupid then when GW Bush ran again. We're not, and I will vote to keep the handsome, intelligent, compassionate, renaissance man in the WH rather than replace him with you. Game over, but thanks for playing.
President Obama 2.0, 2012
Enough with these damn pledges. Enough already!. The fact that Republicans have to sign idiotic pledges is an admission on their part that people can't take them at their word. It basically means that they don't trust their own words and feel that by signing these stupid pledges would somehow make them more thrust worthy. It’s equivalent to those folks that sin in the eyes of god everyday by hurt others (physically or emotionally or economically) and figure that all of their sins will be forgiven by simply going to church for a few hours or minutes once a week/month or year. IDIOTS
Why even ONE woman would vote for this misogynist is beyond me. GOP – this reflects just as bad on you. Why do Republicans hate women?
How about instead of signing pledges not to raise taxes or to be anti-abortion we get these Republicans to sign the Pledge of Allegiance and do what's right for the USA instead of special interest groups.