Perdue's choice

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 08:17:56 -0400

Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue spoke at a NARAL fundraiser Tuesday, something that could have caused a few double takes, reports the N&O's Lynn Bonner.

A likely candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor, Perdue hasn't always agreed with the pro-choice group in the past.

She co-sponsored a House bill in 1989 and a Senate bill in 1991 that would require parental consent for minors seeking abortions. As a state senator, she voted for a successful consent bill.

And in a 1996 voter questionnaire, she said she supported abortions only in cases of incest, rape or when the woman's life is in jeopardy.

On the other hand, Melissa Reed, executive director of NARAL, said Perdue has also co-sponsored laws requiring private insurers to cover contraceptives and making it illegal to block clinic doors.

Reed said Perdue told her she supported the parental consent bills in order to keep more restrictive bills from passing.

And Perdue said her views had shifted from when she was the mother of two sons to now, when she also has two young granddaughters. She now calls herself "strongly pro-choice."

"Millions of people have had the same struggle in their head," she said.

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Perdue's choice