Planned Parenthood Federation of America

Yesterday, amid all the attention about Rudy Giuliani's donations to Planned Parenthood, a column on the Christian Broadcasting Network points out that as mayor, Giuliani proclaimed June 14, 1997 Evangelical Christian Children's Parade Day in New York City. The point, according to the writer, is that

"sometimes we think we know everything but we don’t. There’s a much broader canvass out there."

There may well be, but I'm not sure how much it would help Giuliani's campaign to win over conservatives if the media started treating his mayoral proclamations as a definitive guide to his political philosophy.

Almost a year to the day before he declared Evangelical Christian Children's Parade Day, for example, Giuliani made June 17, 1996 "Planned Parenthood Day." (The ceremonial proclamation, according to a report in Newsday, was collected by Alexander Sanger, who was at the time president of Planned Parenthood of New York City.)

Giuliani also declared a number Lesbian and Gay Pride months, and honored the Coalition of Lesbian and Gay City Employees with "Out in Government Day" in 2000.

And so on.

Since Rudy Giuliani gave his especially malleable answer to a question about whether Roe v Wade should be overturned during the Republican debate, conservatives have been increasingly scrutinizing the former mayor's abortion position. Now one of the candidate's in the Republican primary has explicitly said Giuliani's stance should prevent him from winning the nomination.

The campaign of Tom Tancredo, one of the staunch conservative presidential candidates running on the periphery of the Republican field, just released the following statement.

A number of inquiries have been received regarding Congressman Tancredo’s comment on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos in response to the following question:

Can a pro-choice candidate like Mayor Giuliani win the nomination?

The Congressman responded “Yes”.

The question that was not asked was: “Should a pro-choice candidate like Mayor Giuliani win the nomination?

The answer to that question is, “Emphatically no; if a Republican President of the United States won’t vigorously fight to protect the life of the unborn, how long before the trend toward the culture of death becomes irreversible?”

The statement follows Giuliani's appearance on the talk show host Laura Ingraham, where she grilled Giuliani on his abortion stance and formerly active support for Planned Parenthood.  read more »

Arlene Wysong, a leading commercial real estate broker, died today of lung cancer. She was 66.

Wysong was the co-director of the non-profit division at Colliers ABR. In her 23-year career, she brokered lease deals totaling $1 billion.

At a time when non-profits are panicking with how to keep a presence in the city, Wysong was a champion for the little person's cause.

Of her many celebrated moments (including the 100,000 square feet she brokered for Planned Parenthood on 33rd Street), her deal securing 70,000 square feet for the YMCA at 125 West 14th street may be her most remembered. The deal was a runner-up for the Real Estate Board of New York's Ingenious Deal of the Year.

"Arlene was a champion of the underdog and a fierce competitor," said David Lebenstein, her business partner at Colliers. "You could appreciate what a challenge she faced when you're a charity with limited funds and she guarded their money like it was her own. She fought for every last penny for them."

- John Koblin

You kind of have to like the Daily News’s "Big Town, Big Heart" "Big Heart, Big City" feature, if only as a form of moral rehab for reporters.

And it’s edited by my old friend (so to speak) Dawn Eden, the only person ever fired from the New York Post for being too right-wing. (Here’s n Observerish take on the disputed story, which involved her tweaking a news story into anti-abortionlanguage.)

This column, which ran last week, however, is an amazing attempt to slip one under New York’s typically sensitive political radar. It’s a glowing profile of a crisis pregnancy center, Bridge to Life, and its devoted founder.

No particular facts are in dispute, but somehow the part about how such centers are controversial foot-soldiers in the life-choice wars -- they’re often accused of using any means necessary to prevent women from having abortions, just as they accuse Planned Parenthood of pushing abortion -- never makes it out from under the warm, fuzzy feelings.

However, a reader, Sunny Chapman (also an abortion-rghts advocate) did call up Bridge to Life, and told them she thought she was pregnant and was considering an abortion.

She emails:

Here are some of the things I was told:

Abortion clinics do not inform patients of medical risks Suction machines can damage the cervix, scar the uterine lining and puncture the womb. Women who’ve had abortions have a higher rate of miscarriage and premature birth. Women who’ve had abortions have a higher risk of not ever being able to have children. 27 studies have shown a link between abortion and an increased risk of breast cancer. The high rate of breast cancer in Nassau & Suffolk counties is not linked to toxins, but to a high rate of abortion Women who’ve had abortions are five times more likely to commit suicide.

Hmm.

Well, that didn't take long. As I started to write an item on New York's senior Senator and the new SCOTUS nominee, Judge Samuel Alito, the following popped up from Chuck:

"It is sad that the President felt he had to pick a nominee likely to divide America instead of choosing a nominee in the mold of Sandra Day O'Connor, who would unify us.

"This controversial nominee, who would make the Court less diverse and far more conservative, will get very careful scrutiny from the Senate and from the American people."

Chuck has been saying for years that he wanted a nominee whose views are known, and in this one, he got what he wanted. Alito took what wound up being the losing side in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, as clear a signal as you're going to get that he's a vote against Roe.

On the other hand, Chuck has also said recently that with the President weakened, the Democrats can beat a conservative nominee -- whether by filibuster or on a straight vote.

Sounds like we'll see.  read more »