Brownback Reiterates Pledge That He Will Try To Overturn Roe If Elected President

Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.), who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, on Saturday at a campaign event in West Des Moines, Iowa, reiterated his pledge that, if elected, he will try to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that effectively barred state abortion bans, through appointing a Supreme Court justice, the Des Moines Register reports. Speaking at the Crossroads Fellowship, Brownback said the court is just one justice away from enough votes to overturn Roe, adding, "I want to be the president that appoints that justice" (Kauffman, Des Moines Register, 7/15).

Brownback attended seven campaign events throughout Iowa from July 13 to July 15 as part of his "Pro-Life, Whole-Life Tour," according to the Daily Iowan (Patton, Daily Iowan, 7/16). At another campaign event Saturday in Odebolt, Iowa, Brownback called on Rep. Tom Tancredo (Colo.), who also is running for the Republican nomination, to return campaign contributions from a longtime supporter who gave donations to a Planned Parenthood affiliate in Michigan, the Denver Rocky Mountain News reports (Sprengelmeyer, Denver Rocky Mountain News, 7/16).

Brownback on Saturday in an interview following the event said, "I've had people who've given funds to my campaign (but) when I saw where they were on the issues, I said, 'I don't want to associate with those individuals.'" Tancredo, who also attended the event, in an interview said, "Sen. Brownback knows better," adding, "He knows how I feel on the position of life (opposing abortion). It's disappointing. It's not a mark of a campaign with great integrity" (Rocky Mountain News, 7/16).

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