July (Web-only) 2004

ARTICLE TOOLS

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Democrats for Life opened its Washington office two and a half years ago with five state chapters and 300 members. Today, they have 32 state chapters and between 2,000 and 3,000 dues-paying members. The group has been active this week during the Democratic National Convention, holding events for pro-life Democrats. They have also been wearing buttons saying "43 percent can't be wrong," which refers to a Zogby poll that determined that 43 percent of Democrats agree that "abortion destroys a human life and is manslaughter." Christianity Today talked with executive director Kristen Day on Wednesday, while she was in Boston.

Do you think you're gaining ground, trying to gain recognition of a pro-life position within the Democratic Party?

It's amazing. When I opened the Washington office two years ago, the DNC would not return my calls and I was pretty persistent. I think I called every other week for maybe six or seven months. But now they return my calls. The conversation has started. We met with [DNC Chairman] Terry McAuliffe on Super Tuesday, one of the busiest days of his year. The dialogue is starting.

We received correspondence from Senator [John] Kerry saying why he supports Roe v. Wade and believes that life begins at conception. I don't know how those two mix, but he did say he wanted us to continue to bring this issue up and that there is a need for discussion on this issue. I think we're going to see more of it. Two years ago Democrats weren't even allowed to talk about this issue. I think we've made an important step here. It's going to be talked about now.

What do you think of Kerry's position that life begins at conception?

We were very pleased to see that he came forward and said that. But now he needs to follow through. ...