Pro-Offshore Drilling & Anti-Choice Governor Pawlenty
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Amy Wojcicki, Communications Director
amy [at] dpo [dot] org
(503) 239-8636
Chris Dudley has called in Governor Tim Pawlenty from Minnesota for policy advice. Governor Pawlenty is in Oregon today to lend that advice on two issues the Republican candidates have in common: their support for offshore drilling and their opposition to protecting a woman’s right to choose. These are two positions that go against the values Oregonians ho ld.
On offshore drilling both have offered their support even in the wake of the BP disaster in the gulf:
Dudley: In the wake of the BP disaster, Dudley confirmed his support for offshore drilling, even off the Oregon coast. On KGW’s Straight Talkearlier this year, Chris Dudley repeated his support for offshore drilling, even off the Oregon coast. KGW’s Laurel Porter asked Dudley if he would be open to drilling off the Oregon coast and Dudley said, “I’m open to it, yeah.” [KGW Straight Talk, 6/5/2010]
Pawlenty: Remained Committed To Offshore Oil Drilling After The Catastrophic O il Spill Off The Gulf Coast… “Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty says he’s still committed to offshore oil drilling. ‘It’ll certainly cause people to think about how this happened and why it happened but you have to look at the whole picture,’ Pawlenty said in an interview today. Pawlenty, a 2012 GOP presidential hopeful, said that the spill, which has begun to reach the Gulf shore, is ‘not something that can be ignored, but again it’s the first incident of this nature in over 40 years. We should use it as a way to try to reduce the chances of this incident happening again, through technology or safeguards, not by stopping offshore drilling.’ The April 20 rig explosion and continuing leak from a British Petroleum well in the Gulf threatens to rank with the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska, which caused widespread environmental devastation.” [Wall Street Journal, Washington Wire blog, 4/30/10]
Dudley is standing side by side with Tim Pawlenty who is vehemently anti-choice. Most telling Pawlenty has proven time and again that a governor does play a key role in women's rights by signing legislation that put obstacles in place, and spreading false health information. Dudley taking policy advice from Pawlenty is very concerning to pro-choice Oregonians.
Pawlenty Signed Mandatory Waiting Period Legislation That Required Doctors To Provide “Certain Information” About The Procedure Prior To The 24-Hour Waiting Period. “Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty swiftly signed into law a bill requiring that women in Minnesota be told certain information and wait 24 hours before having an abortion…The bill, tucked into an unrelated measure revoking circus regulations, passed the Senate 41-24…Enactment is a decisive victory for abortion foes, who have been fighting to increase their legislative allies in election after election. It al so puts Minnesota in the midst of a national effort to fight the abortion battle in statehouses.” [Associated Press, 4/14/03]
Pawlenty Signed Legislation That Marked “The Most Significant Change In Minnesota Abortion Policy In Nearly Two Decades.” [Star Tribune, 4/15/03]
Law Required Physicians To Tell Women The “Estimates Of The Pai n A Fetus Might Feel,” “The Probable Gestational Age Of The Unborn Child,” “Medical Risks Associated With Abortions,” “State Benefits” That May Be Available For Pregnant Mothers, And “That The Father Must Help Support The Child.” [Associated Press, 4/14/03]
Under Pawlenty the Minnesota State Linked Abortion To Breast Cancer. The Star Tribune reported that emails obtained by the newspaper “show that Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s office had a role in approving the language on breast cancer risk as well as another controversial statement on fetal pain published on the Web and in the pamphlet….The e-mails reveal that an aide in Pawlenty’s office communicated with the Health Depart ment over the language on breast cancer risk and fetal pain.” [Star Tribune, 12/8/03]
“John Kitzhaber is the only pro-choice can didate with a strong and consistent record of standing up for women’s rights. He is the only candidate that will protect Oregon’s pristine coastlines,” said Meredith Wood Smith, chair of the Democratic Party of Oregon. “Dudley’s short but alarming record and his decision to take advice from Tim Pawlenty shows just how out of step with Oregonians Chris Dudley really is.”
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