Palin, Sebelius, and the right to choose

Hold up, wait a minute. Could this possibly be true?

An online community of female supporters of Gov. Sarah Palin is launching a last minute campaign to derail the candidacy of Kathleen Sebelius for the secretary post at the Department of Health and Human Services.

Team Sarah, which was founded to support and mobilize for the McCain-Palin ticket and claims tens-of-thousands of members, blasted out a petition on Monday morning urging members to "flood the phone lines" in opposition to Sebelius' candidacy.

Look - I know some of you are tired of Palin talk (see the previous posts' comments to read what I mean). I get it - I'm tired of her, too. But she's out and about in the political arena, raising money for the Indiana Right to Life organization and its annual dinner. Ignoring her would be ignoring the threat she and other politicians like her pose to the right to choose.

Palin's speech has not gone unnoticed by mainstream media. NARAL Pro-Choice America political director Elizabeth Shipp responded:

Supporters of abortion rights said every woman deserves the chance to make her own choice. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say Governor Palin sounds remarkably pro-choice," said Elizabeth Shipp, political director at NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Indeed. Except we all know that Palin opposes legal abortion, even in cases of rape or incest.

Columnist Ruth Marcus had this take on Palin's speech:

I'd like to thank Sarah Palin for her bravery in explaining the importance of a woman's right to choose. Even braver, the Alaska governor made her eloquent case for choice at a right-to-life fundraising dinner...

[Palin said] I do understand what these women, what these girls go through in that thought process."

Except that, of course, if it were up to Palin, women would have no thought process to go through. The "good decision to choose life," as she put it, would be no decision at all, because abortion would not be an option.

Let's all take a moment to be thankful that Gov. Palin is not Vice President Palin - shall we?

I know I've ventured off track, but here's where I bring it all back to the Sebelius nomination. As I wrote above, Team Sarah, the online community of Palin's female supporters, is calling on its members to take on the Sebelius nomination as part of the "Not on Our Watch" project... because Sebelius is pro-choice. Never mind her years of experience. If Team Sarah sees fit to launch a campaign against the Sebelius confirmation, then I see fit to point out the hypocrisy of Palin's recent statements at the Indiana Right to Life dinner in conjunction with the "Not on Our Watch" project.

We must work to ensure Gov. Sebelius is confirmed. Her nomination went before the Senate Finance Committee for a vote today, and it passed by a vote of 15-8. Now, it will go on to a full Senate vote which could happened any day now.

NARAL Pro-Choice America, as part of our Three-for-Three campaign, is fighting to ensure that Gov. Sebelius is confirmed, because we know she is well qualified for this job:

• Gov. Sebelius has spent the last 20 years in public service, ensuring that Kansans are healthy and safe, first as a state representative and then as insurance commissioner.
• As governor, Sebelius has a strong record of protecting women's access to reproductive-health services and information.
• Her experience, extensive public service, and record protecting women's reproductive rights makes Gov. Sebelius a highly qualified nominee to serve as HHS secretary.

Take action NOW with NARAL Pro-Choice America and urge your senators to move forward on the confirmation of Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as secretary of Health and Human Services.