Democratic Convention Speakers List Includes No Pro-Lifers

"Pro-life Democrat:" an oxymoron?

by Steven Ertelt | Washington, DC | LifeNews.com | 8/31/12 12:24 PM

Organizers of the Democratic convention in Charlotte, North Carolina released a partial list of the speakers that will headlining the convention to nominate pro-abortion President Barack Obama to another four year term.
The list is long on speakers who have spent their entire political careers advocating for abortion. Missing among the roster of notables speaking at the convention? Anyone who shares the pro-life view a majority of Americans hold on abortion.
The list of pro-abortion convention speakers includes: Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts; Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley; Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the former White House Chief of Staff; and former Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine, who is running for a Virginia U.S. Senate seat.
Pro-abortion former President Bill Clinton will enter Obama’s name into nomination at the convention and speaking ahead of Clinton will be Elizabeth Warren, the pro-abortion U.S. Senate candidate from Massachusetts.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are speaking along with Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Charlie Gonzalez, Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Emanuel Cleaver, Rep. John Lewis of Georgia, and Rep. Judy Chu of California. Some of the top pro-abortion Democratic women will share the stage, including Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York, Rep. Nydia Velasquez of New York, Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, Rep. Allyson Schwartz of Pennsylvania, Rep. Donna Edwards of Maryland.
The speaker’s list includes U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin; Former assistant secretary, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Tammy Duckworth; Denise Juneau, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Montana; Caroline Kennedy; Lilly Ledbetter; actress Eva Longoria; U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, Maryland.; and California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris. All of them are strong abortion proponents.
Also on the list: Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris, and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper.
Meanwhile, top pro-abortion activists will join pro-abortion politicians on the stage.
In 2008, the Democratic National Committee allowed Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business which Obama has funded despite its coverup of child rape, to speak from the stage. Nancy Keenan, the head of NARAL, and one of the pro-abortion activists to endorse Obama early in the 2008 election, spoke as well.
Both will be back this time around and Sandra Fluke, the Georgetown student who has been a surrogate for Obama promoting the pro-abortion HHS mandate, will speak, too.
Keenan said she is “thrilled to be chosen as a speaker at the Democratic National Convention.”
“It’s an honor to be able to speak to the delegates, honored guests, and American public watching at home about why we must re-elect President Barack Obama,” she said in a note to pro-abortion members of NARAL. “As I stand on stage at the convention, I will amplify your pro-choice voices. I will speak on behalf of NARAL Pro-Choice America’s million member-activists, and all Americans who understand that women–not politicians–should be able to make personal, private health-care decisions.”
Keenan also praised the DNC for keeping its pro-abortion commitment.

“As you may remember, I served on the Democratic platform committee and represented all of you at our platform drafting meeting in Minneapolis earlier this month. I’m proud that the Democratic Party is again reaffirming its commitment to protect women’s reproductive rights through the party platform, and by choosing so many pro-choice speakers for the convention,” she said.
“NARAL Pro-Choice America PAC endorsed President Obama for re-election because he understands the issue of choice is a deeply personal one. Throughout his first term, President Obama has been committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose and making reproductive-health care more accessible and affordable for women. His administration has enacted critical reproductive-health policies that will affect generations to come,” Keenan added. “To prevail against the War on Women, we must defeat the Romney-Ryan ticket and send President Obama back to the White House for four more years. I’m proud to take that message to Charlotte next month on behalf of all of you.”
The Democratic Party has already turned back efforts by pro-life Democrats to moderate its pro-abortion position and add any language to its platform showing it welcomes Democrats who oppose abortion. As LifeNews has reported, the Democratic National Committee has officially rejected an effort by pro-life Democrats to get the party to include them in its platform that calls for keeping unlimited abortions legal and paid for at taxpayer expense.
Democrats are also coming under fire from within its own ranks for not offering child care during the convention.