Issues
There are many critical issues facing our nation. They include, but are not limited to:
Abortion
I support all efforts to promote adoption through increased tax incentives and bonuses to states that place older children in permanent family homes, as well as his efforts to promote foster care by increasing the allocation of funds for preventive and family services.
Each year more than three million American teenagers contract sexually transmitted diseases, causing emotional harm and serious health consequences, even death. I support efforts to educate teens and parents about the health risks associated with early sexual activity and provide the tools needed to help teens make healthy choices. Abstinence from sexual activity is the only protection that is 100 percent effective against out-of-wedlock pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, including sexually transmitted HIV/AIDS. Therefore, I support abstinence education funding, oppose federally funded school-based clinics that provide referrals and related services for contraception and abortion.
Human Life Amendment to the Constitution
We must keep our pledge to the first guarantee of the Declaration of Independence. That is why I say the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. I support a human life amendment to the Constitution and we endorse legislation to make it clear that the 14th Amendment's protections apply to unborn children. My purpose is to have legislative and judicial protection of that right against those who perform abortions. I oppose using public revenues for abortion and will not fund organizations which advocate it. I support the appointment of judges who respect traditional family values and the sanctity of innocent human life.
I oppose abortion, but my pro-life agenda does not include punitive action against women who have an abortion. I salute those who provide alternatives to abortion and offer adoption services, and I commend Congressional Republicans for expanding assistance to adopting families and for removing racial barriers to adoption.
Civil Rights (Affirmative Access, without preferences or set-asides)
I favor aggressive, proactive measures to ensure that no individual is discriminated against on the basis of race, national origin, gender, or other characteristics covered by our civil rights laws. I also favor recruitment and outreach policies that cast the widest possible net so that the best qualified individuals are encouraged to apply for jobs, contracts, and university admissions. I believe in the principle of affirmative access-taking steps to ensure that disadvantaged individuals of all colors and ethnic backgrounds have the opportunity to compete economically. Therefore, I support a reasonable approach to Title IX that seeks to expand opportunities for women without adversely affecting men's athletics. Because I am opposed to discrimination, I reject preferences, quotas, and set-asides based on skin color, ethnicity, or gender, which perpetuate divisions and can lead people to question the accomplishments of successful minorities and women.