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THE NATURE OF PRO-LIFE ISSUES
1. Direct threats to human life include
first of all abortion, which takes the lives
of well over a million US children annually;
embryonic stem cell harvesting; euthanasia;
and cloning. Additional threats to
human life include poverty, capital
punishment, racism, war, nuclear arms
proliferation and exploitation. Since
each and every human being is unique and
important, one's personhood or worth should
not be arbitrarily determined by another's
choice. No one exists solely as a
means to someone else's happiness. The
choices we make, as individuals and as a
society, must be weighed in light of their
impact on human life and dignity. Do
you acknowledge both the breadth of pro life
issues, and the primacy of some of those
issues, namely abortion, embryonic stem cell
harvesting, euthanasia, and cloning?
Yes
ABORTION
2. Do you believe that a unique
human life begins at conception? Yes
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If not, when? ___ 3 mths
___ 6 mths ___ 9 mths
___ 1 yr ___ 18 yrs?
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3. The
14th Amendment states
"nor shall any state deprive any person of
life, liberty or property without due
process of law; nor deny to any person
within its jurisdiction the equal protection
of the laws." The Supreme Court in Roe
v. Wade, 1973,
stated that "if this suggestion of
personhood is established, the appellant's
case, of course, collapses, for the fetus'
right to life would then be guaranteed
specifically by the [14th] Amendment." The
Court regrettably concluded though that "we
need not resolve the difficult question of
when life begins. When those trained in the
respective disciplines of medicine,
philosophy, and theology are unable to
arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at
this point in the development of man's
knowledge, is not in a position to speculate
as to the answer." Do
you believe that the State has a
compelling interest in protecting human
life beginning at conception?
Yes
4. Is taking the life of a pre-born
child through abortion
ever morally permissible? Check all
that apply:
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_____ No, it's never permissible
____X_ Yes, to save mother's life
___X__ Yes, in cases of rape or
incest
____ Yes, for physical deformity
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_____ Yes, for gender
_____ Yes, for race
_____ Yes, to punish spouse
_____ Yes, it's always permissible
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EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS AND CLONING
5. Do you oppose embryonic stem
cell research or human cloning, whether
publically or privately funded?
Yes
PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN ABORTION
6. Peer reviewed studies have shown that
parental involvement laws reduce the
occurrence of risky sex in teens, and more
than 30 states currently have some form of
them. Either the teen refrains from
engaging in sex or is more careful before
having sex. These laws help teen
mothers and fathers get the support and
guidance they need from parents in this
important decision. Not having them
risks parental estrangement or alienation
from the child when in the greatest need and
denies the dignity of the family.
Minors already must have parental approval
for even the most minor types of medical
procedures or medications and should also
for the complex procedure of abortion.
Without parental involvement, a minor
impregnated by an adult often times is
pressured into having an abortion so as to
conceal the fact that the adult is guilty of
statutory rape. Will
you promote/support parental involvement
laws (with judicial override) for minors
when seeking an abortion?
Yes
MEDICAL CONSCIENCE CLAUSES
7. "The trend toward accepting the
termination of some human lives as a normal
part of medicine is accelerating ... Courts,
policymakers, media leaders - even the
elites of organized medicine - increasingly
assert that patient rights and respect for
patients’ choices should trump the
consciences of medical professionals.
Indeed, the time may soon arrive when
doctors, nurses, and pharmacists will be
compelled to take, or be complicit in the
taking of, human life, regardless of their
strong religious or moral objections
thereto." (Westlie
J. Smith, 2009). Should
doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other
medical professionals be granted the right
to refuse participation in the provision of
medical services that violate the person's
moral, ethical or religious beliefs?
Yes
PHYSICIAN ASSISTED SUICIDE
8. Washington
State Initiative 1000 which
was passed in 2008, legalized Physician
Assisted Suicide (PAS) by allowing doctors
to prescribe lethal doses of barbiturates to
certain patients. An objection to this
sanctioning of suicide is that some
vulnerable persons, such as those who are
feeble, depressed, mentally ill, or
handicapped, will likely experience coercion
to end their lives. For them a right
to die, already protected in the Natural
Death Act, (RCW
70.122),
may become a duty to die. The American
Medical Association (policy H-140.952)
as well as the Washington State Medical
Association (2007
Resolution A-7)
oppose PAS. The AMA stated that
"physician assisted suicide is fundamentally
inconsistent with the physician's
professional role." The initiative
uses vague language that enable doctors
"acting in good faith" to assist mentally
ill or depressed patients to commit suicide,
while protecting doctors from civil and
criminal lawsuits. Health care
insurers can cut costs by providing
prescriptions for suicide. Will
society's sanction of suicide have
unintended consequences? Sponsor and
former governor Booth Gardner says that this
is only a “first step” in legalizing
assisted suicide for anyone who wants it.
When society fails to protect vulnerable
people in their troubles, but instead offers
them the violence of suicide, has not
society abandoned them? Do
you oppose physician assisted suicide?
Yes
MARRIAGE PRESERVATION
9. Children develop best within the
context of a biologically related family.
This is a scientifically proven fact which
the Washington
State Supreme Court referenced
when in 2006, it ruled on the state's 1998
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The
court determined that the state's limitation
of marriage to heterosexual couples "is
constitutional because the legislature was
entitled to believe that limiting marriage
to opposite-sex couples furthers ... the
well-being of children by encouraging
families where children are reared in homes
headed by the children’s biological
parents." In concurrence, Justice
James Johnson wrote
"The unique and binary biological nature of
marriage and its exclusive link with
procreation and responsible child rearing
has defined the institution [of marriage in
law]." In
order to affirm and protect children’s
rights and the primacy of those rights over
adults’ aspirations for novel family forms,
do you oppose laws that change the
definition of marriage to include homosexual
and polygamous relationships?
Yes
PUBLIC SCHOOL SEX EDUCATION
10. The Washington State Legislature in 2007
passed ESSB
5297 requiring
school districts to teach "scientifically
accurate" (aka comprehensive) sex education,
if they teach sex ed at all. The typical
comprehensive sex education program spends
as little as 5% of the time teaching
abstinence principles (Zogby
3/27/07), instead spending significantly
more time teaching students how to put
condoms on models of male genitalia and
promoting alternative forms of sexual
activity called outercourse, which may
include showering together and mutual
masturbation as effective ways to avoid
pregnancy and disease. In contrast, an
emphasis on abstinence means teaching
students about building healthy
relationships and bolstering self worth and
self-control. Given
that ESSB 5297 allows school districts a
wide range in how the law is applied, will
you work to maximize sex education that is
wholesome, not dehumanizing and truly safe?
Yes
DEATH PENALTY
11. The death penalty in the United States
should:
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_____ not be used
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_____ be
used about the same
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_____ be
used less
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X
be
used more
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GAMING
12. A proposed casino off I-5 near
Ridgefield is projected to be one of the
largest in the nation. What is your
position on the building of this
casino? The latest news can be found here
on the Citizens Against Reservation Shopping
blog.
QUALIFICATIONS AND COMMENTS
13. Please state your qualifications for
office such as professional, educational,
family and community accomplishments.
You may also add any any further comments
regarding the relationship of your candidacy
to respect life issues.
14. Do you have a campaign website?
What is the address?
Electharris.com
PO Box 872233
Vancouver
WA
98687
WEBSITE POSTING PERMISSION
15. May Life Pac post your survey response
on its website?
Yes
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