Laura Bush is OK with Gay Marriage and Abortion?

Nikki Lorenzini

Recently Laura Bush did an interview with Larry King while publicizing her new book, Spoken From the Heart. During the interview she stated that she is now supports gay marriage and is pro-choice on abortion, both of which policies her husband opposed during his presidency. I think that it is ironic that she is finally coming out with her different stances now she has a new book, and not while George W. was in office.

I am really questioning whether these are her real viewpoints and instead of statements made only for publicity's sake. With her stance on gay marriage, she said, “I think that we ought to definitely look at it and debate it. I think there are a lot of people who have trouble coming to terms with that because they see marriage as traditionally between a man and a woman, but I also know that when couples are committed to each other and love each other that they ought to have the same sort of rights that everyone has.”

I feel that this topic has already been debated, has been debated since her husband has been in office, so I am not sure where she has been. My real question is: if she felt this way when W. was in in office, and if she is so passionate about it, why did she not take a stand during the 8 years she was in the White House? I might not particularly agree with Gay Marriage, but I sure do believe that people need to take a stand for what they believe in. She could have dramatically affected people’s lives if she had.

Now with her stance on abortion, I totally understand. I am not pro-choice, and I really haven’t come to terms yet with how I feel about abortions in medical situations when the lives of both mother and child are in danger. Bush said she did not want Roe v. Wade to be overturned -- "and I think it's important that it remain legal, because I think its important for people for medical reasons and other reasons."

Now, I do not know what her “other reasons” might entail. But I do know that there are two parts that came out of Roe v. Wade: That the right to abortion is determined by the stage of pregnancy, and states cannot prohibit it before viability, which is 28 weeks. The second part is where Bush is having her hang-up: the state cannot prohibit the abortion if it is necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother when used the appropriate medical judgment. Again, I am not sure why Bush couldn’t stand up for this cause when her husband was still in office.

I wonder if she knows how many people actually try to take a stand regarding this issue, and would loved for her to have taken a stand. Why should she feel like she has to sit quietly just so her husband’s policies wouldn’t have been challenged? Does she know that people mocked his decisions frequently?

Even if she did not do it publicly, I am sure she seen him daily, and could have pleaded her case behind closed doors. I just think that it is ironic that she has a point of view now that she has a book to sell.

Links of interest:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/13/laura-bush-gay-marriage-s_n_574731.html