Ad Watch: Moore's YouTube clip

A YouTube clip from state Treasurer Richard Moore's campaign does not tell the whole story of Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue's record on abortion.

The clip, posted on Aug. 29, shows part of a television news segment from 1996 in which Perdue explains a 96 percent cut to a state fund to pay for abortions for poor women. But it leaves out a section of the interview in which Perdue says she is pro-choice.

Moore and Perdue are facing off for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Moore's campaign has charged that Perdue has wavered in her support for abortion rights; Perdue has defended her record. Pro-choice groups are not taking sides.

Moore's YouTube clip of Perdue.

The rest of Perdue's interview.

Details after the jump.

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In 1996, Perdue, then a state senator, was co-chair of the powerful budget committee.

In that year's budget (Section 23.27), Senate Democrats cut a state fund that paid for abortions for poor women from $1.2 million to $50,000. The cut was contentious among Senate Democrats. Some wanted to prevent Republicans from using it as an issue in the next year's budget, while others thought it limited poor women's choices.

In a segment of UNC-TV's Legislative Week in Review that aired on June 23, 1995, Perdue was asked about the cut by reporter Robin Minietta.

She said it represented a "philosophical statement" from the Senate on the issue of government-funded abortions.

"It's one of the things that I hear most from the people I represent, that they believe that choice is an issue for the woman and the family and the minister ... but they don't believe it's an issue where tax dollars should be funneled," she said.

The YouTube segment ends there. In the interview, Minietta then asked Perdue if she agreed with the decision.

"I support choice. Everybody knows that," she said. "I do think it's a very personal decision, but I don't believe that tax dollars should be used to pay for abortion."

In the 1997 continuation budget (Section 23.8A), the abortion fund was limited to women who are not on Medicaid. Both limitations remained in place as of this year's budget (Section 10.32).