Thompson’s Fancy Footwork Wins Him Right-To-Life Crown

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Fred Thompson has chutzpah.

In a campaign press release hailing his endorsement by the National Right To Life Committee, Thompson declared:

In supporting me, those who have worked tirelessly to defend life are supporting a consistent conservative who has stood with them yesterday, who stands with them today, and will stand with them tomorrow.

The press release went on to say,

Fred Thompson is pro-life. He believes in the sanctity of human life and that every life is worthy of respect. He had a 100% pro-life voting record in the Senate and believes Roe v. Wade was a bad decision that ought to be overturned. He consistently opposed federal funding to promote or pay for abortion.

What about his days as a lawyer-lobbyist when Thompson aided abortion rights groups trying to persuade the administration of President George H.W. Bush to ease restrictions on federal payments to health clinics that offered (among other services) abortion counseling? When The Los Angeles Times broke this story in July, Thompson’s campaign first denied he had done anything such thing. But as records surfaced showing he had helped the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, Thompson claimed he was merely doing his duty as a lawyer:

The practice of law is a business as well as a profession. It’s the way you support your family. And if a client has a legal and ethical right to take a position, then you may appropriately represent him as long as he does not lie or otherwise conduct himself improperly while you are representing him. In almost 30 years of practicing law I must have had hundreds of clients and thousands of conversations about legal matters. Like any good lawyer, I would always try to give my best, objective, and professional opinion on any legal question presented to me.

But no lawyer is obligated to work for a client he finds morally reprehensible. Thompson certainly had the right to tell his law firm that he would prefer not to assist a group advocating abortion rights (or, as the anti-abortion crowd puts it, the right to commit mass-murder). He chose to put the code of business above a moral concern. That was his prerogative. What’s wrong is how he has tried (and succeeded) in double-talking his way out of a predicament. He worked for this abortion rights group, then ran for Senate as an anti-abortion candidate. When the story came out about his pro-abortion toils, his campaign issued a false denial. After incontrovertible proof emerged, he hid behind his duty as a lawyer. After all that, Thompson ends up with the right-to-life crown.

It’s a tale of contortions. But look at the GOP field. One of the leading candidates is a supporter of abortion rights trying to convince the anti-abortion crowd he’s not that pro-choice (Rudy Giuliani). Another is a former supporter of abortion rights attempting to persuade potential Republican voters he has been converted (Mitt Romney). And a third once railed against the leaders of the religious right and has tried to mend fences with the social conservatives (John McCain). So Thompson’s pirouettes are not much in comparison. In the land of GOP contortions, Thompson’s dance is about as straightforward as they come.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

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