Who really is pro-life in the Virginia Governor's race?

Hello All,I had an opinion published in the Roanoke Times (~250k circulation) on October 31 about what is pro-life and who is pro-life in the VirginiaGovernor's Race.

It can be found at:http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/commentary/wb/38577

Pasted Below according to "Fair Use".

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Kaine holds genuine pro-life views
Mark Dominesey

After reading Ricky Dale Dunford's letter ("Republicans present a winning team," Oct. 25) in which he asserts that the Republican gubernatorial candidate is pro-life, I felt that I must present what is truly pro-life and who is truly pro-life in this election.

Dunford actually states that the Republican candidate is pro-life while in the same sentence stating he favors the death penalty. This shows an appaling lack of understanding on his part -- and the part of most other right-wing Republicans -- about what constitutes a pro-life position.

One who is anti-abortion but pro-death penalty is not pro-life. That person is simply anti-abortion. The death penalty does not value human life, it debases it as much as any other affront to life.

The Republican Party has many stances that are contrary to the pro-life position, such as supporting illegal and immoral wars; stratifying people into social classes, with the result being widespread poverty; a policy against an actual, livable working wage; blatant giveaways to big business at the expense of the American taxpayer, such as Medicare having to pay full retail instead of negotiated discounts; and of course the avowed desire for killing criminals and expanding the capital offenses that can invokethe death penalty.

A true pro-life position protects everything that impacts life. Being pro-life necessarily means an opposition to abortion, but it also includes many other causes such as an opposition to the death penalty, an opposition to war, an opposition to fetal stem cell research (stem cell research is OK as long as it is perfomed with placental or adult stem cells) and an opposition to euthanasia.

A true pro-life position also supports a living wage because people who work should not be in poverty; it supports health care for all regardless of ability to pay; it supports care for the disabled, the poor and the elderly; and it also includes an opposition to racism.

If someone claims to be pro-life and still allows for the death ofpeople by the state through capital punishment or death by outright neglect such as the unavailability of healthcare or disater preparation, is he truly pro-life? Or is he anti-abortion? The right-wing conservatives have defined pro-life for too long, and it is time for Americans to recall what protecting life truly means.

In this gubernatorial election, we have two platforms at complete odds with each other. One platform is headed by someone who calls himself pro-life, but advocates expanding the death penalty. The other platform is headed by someone who is truly pro-life: The opposition to abortion and the death penalty while protecting the least of society.

Tim Kaine has stated that he will uphold the laws of the commonwealth regarding the death penalty and he will allow for commonsense restrictions to abortion. Kaine is a man of faith, and his Catholic faith is strong to him.

The manipulation of crime victims for political gain, as Kilgore has done, demeans Kaine's faith as well as the faith of countless other Christians who follow the Ten Commandments and the teachings of Jesus.

We must define the pro-life position correctly. Jerry Kilgore is not pro-life, and he refuses to answer how he would rule on a reversal of Roe v. Wade.

Lets hope that Virginians will be intelligent enough to see throughhis ruse on Nov. 8.
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