CNN profiles Fred Thompson's 'abortion woes'
Beset by his past positions on abortion, former Senator Fred Thompson is in hot water with some social conservatives, a constituency whose support he will need if he is going to run for President in 2008 as many expect.
On Monday, CNN's Situation Room documented Thompson's struggles to distance himself from past lobbying activity on behalf of a pro-choice organization, first reported by the Los Angeles Times.
According to the paper, "In 1991, Thompson agreed to work for a pro-abortion rights group, the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association," where he was hired as council to "aid in discussions with the Administration . . . to rescind a rule prohibiting abortion counseling at federally funded clinics."
Thompson's Spokesmen Mark Corallo told CNN, "Fred Thompson has no recollection of doing any work on behalf of this group. He may have been consulted by one of the firm's partners who represented this group in 1991."
But according to Thompson's old law partner, former Democratic Congressman Michael Barnes, Thompson was set up to work with the organization specifically. "The only person who worked on it was Fred," he says.
Social Conservatives have other reasons to dismiss Thompson's candidacy. One posting on youtube.com shows his answer to a 1994 Seante debate to a question about supporting or opposing laws permitting abortion on demand, where he stated "I do not believe that he federal government ought to be involved in that process."
The former "Law and Order" star also backed the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance reform legislation, a bill many conservatives opposed.
The following video is from CNN's Situation Room, broadcast on July 9.
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