The Right to Life

I believe that Roe was made in response to a need for relief, because women were dying as a result of back-alley abortion, and that is as unacceptable today as it was then. Society attached stigmas to single mothers and women were sometimes desperate to avoid that stigma and associated life complications. That stigma is gone today.

Given the changes to social attitudes toward motherhood and the medical advances in both contraception and pre-natal care, my goal as a pro-life candidate is to ensure that sex education taught in our schools provides an in-depth explanation of all aspects of abortion, physical, social, spiritual and psychological; That options other than abortion are emphasized.

I would prefer to change the designation “pro-choice” to one of “pro-informed-decision” to ensure those who do seek abortions understand what they’re doing. I believe that with proper education, the number of abortions will decrease dramatically.

As a doctor, I believe that no treatment should be offered to a patient without a complete explanation of all the possible outcomes. My goal is to help children lead lives that are safer, happier and healthier. We can achieve this without infringing upon the rights of women or the rights of infants.In the cases of rape and incest, I believe these women have been victimized at least once already. The decisions they make belong between their families, themselves, and God.

Same-Sex Marriage

I was raised a Catholic, I married in the Catholic Church, I’m raising my daughters Catholic, and I still attend mass at St. Stanislaus Church in Fall River. To me, marriage is a sacrament that involves one man and one woman.But just like Jack Kennedy when he ran, I understand that my religion can inform my views, but the Constitution directs my actions. And the Constitution does not discriminate against same-sex marriage. Marriage as a legal construct has always been left up to the states, and I believe it should continue to be left up to the states.

In terms of the religious and cultural aspects of marriage, I am NOT pro-homosexual-marriage. I am not an advocate. However, whatever two people decide to do before their God and family is up to them: it is an individual right. In such legal civil rights struggles as women’s suffrage and the equal rights of African-Americans, there were forces active at the time who wished to restrict equality based upon unchanging demographics such as sex and skin color, and upon legal and moral precepts. I do not believe that the Constitution was meant to restrict people in this way. Likewise, I believe the Constitution speaks to individual rights, rather than restrictions, based upon sexual preference. The power of the Constitution requires that we are all obliged to defend the individual rights of our fellow Americans even if it puts into question another individual’s personal beliefs.