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THE NATURE OF PRO-LIFE ISSUES
1. Direct threats to human life include
first of all abortion, which takes the lives
of well over a million US children annually;
embryonic stem cell harvesting; euthanasia;
and cloning. Additional threats to
human life include poverty, capital
punishment, racism, war, nuclear arms
proliferation and exploitation. Since
each and every human being is unique and
important, one's personhood or worth should
not be arbitrarily determined by another's
choice. No one exists solely as a
means to someone else's happiness. The
choices we make, as individuals and as a
society, must be weighed in light of their
impact on human life and dignity. Do
you acknowledge both the breadth of pro life
issues, and the primacy of some of those
issues, namely abortion, embryonic stem cell
harvesting, euthanasia, and cloning?
YES
ABORTION
2. Do you believe that a unique
human life begins at conception?
YES
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If not, when? ___ 3 mths
___ 6 mths ___ 9 mths
___ 1 yr ___ 18 yrs?
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3. The
14th Amendment states "nor
shall any state deprive any person of life,
liberty or property without due process of
law; nor deny to any person within its
jurisdiction the equal protection of the
laws." The Supreme Court in Roe
v. Wade, 1973, stated that "if this
suggestion of personhood is established, the
appellant's case, of course, collapses, for
the fetus' right to life would then be
guaranteed specifically by the [14th]
Amendment." The Court regrettably concluded
though that "we need not resolve the
difficult question of when life begins. When
those trained in the respective disciplines
of medicine, philosophy, and theology are
unable to arrive at any consensus, the
judiciary, at this point in the development
of man's knowledge, is not in a position to
speculate as to the answer." Do
you believe that the State has a
compelling interest in protecting human life beginning
at conception?
YES
4. Is taking the life of a pre-born
child through abortion ever morally
permissible? Check all that apply:
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_____ No, it's never permissible
___x__ Yes, to save mother's life
_____ Yes, in cases of rape or
incest
____ Yes, for physical deformity
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_____ Yes, for gender
_____ Yes, for race
_____ Yes, to punish spouse
_____ Yes, it's always permissible
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EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS AND
CLONING
5. Do you oppose embryonic stem
cell research and human cloning, whether
publically or privately funded?
YES
PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN ABORTION
6. Peer reviewed studies have shown that
parental involvement laws reduce the
occurrence of risky sex in teens, and more
than 30 states currently have some form of
them. Either the teen refrains from
engaging in sex or is more careful before
having sex. These laws help teen
mothers and fathers get the support and
guidance they need from parents in this
important decision. Not having them
risks parental estrangement or alienation
from the child when in the greatest need and
denies the dignity of the family.
Minors already must have parental approval
for even the most minor types of medical
procedures or medications and should also
for the complex procedure of abortion.
Without parental involvement, a minor
impregnated by an adult often times is
pressured into having an abortion so as to
conceal the fact that the adult is guilty of
statutory rape. Do
you support parental involvement laws (with
judicial override) for minors when seeking
an abortion?
YES
PHYSICIAN ASSISTED SUICIDE
7. Washington
State Initiative 1000 which
was passed in 2008, legalized Physician
Assisted Suicide (PAS) by allowing doctors
to prescribe lethal doses of barbiturates to
certain patients. One objection to
this sanctioning of suicide is that some
vulnerable persons, such as those who are
feeble, depressed, mentally ill, or
handicapped, will likely experience coercion
to end their lives. For them a right
to die, already protected in the Natural
Death Act, (RCW
70.122), may become a duty to die.
The American Medical Association (policy H-140.952)
as well as the Washington State Medical
Association (2007
Resolution A-7) oppose PAS. The
AMA states that "physician assisted suicide
is fundamentally inconsistent with the
physician's professional role." The
initiative uses vague language that enable
doctors "acting in good faith" to assist
mentally ill or depressed patients to commit
suicide, while protecting doctors from civil
and criminal lawsuits. Health care
insurers can cut costs by providing
prescriptions for suicide. Will
society's sanction of suicide have
unintended consequences? Sponsor and
former governor Booth Gardner says that this
is only a “first step” in legalizing
assisted suicide for anyone who wants it.
When society fails to protect vulnerable
people in their troubles, but instead offers
them the violence of suicide, has not
society abandoned them? Do
you oppose physician assisted suicide?
YES
MARRIAGE PRESERVATION
8. Children develop best within the
context of a biologically related family.
This is a scientifically proven fact which
the Washington
State Supreme Court referenced
when in 2006, it ruled on the state's 1998
Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). The
court determined that the state's limitation
of marriage to heterosexual couples "is
constitutional because the legislature was
entitled to believe that limiting marriage
to opposite-sex couples furthers ... the
well-being of children by encouraging
families where children are reared in homes
headed by the children’s biological
parents." In concurrence, Justice
James Johnson wrote "The
unique and binary biological nature of
marriage and its exclusive link with
procreation and responsible child rearing
has defined the institution [of marriage in
law]." In
order to affirm and protect children’s
rights and the primacy of those rights over
adults’ aspirations for novel family forms,
do you oppose laws that change the
definition of marriage to include homosexual
and polygamous relationships?
YES
MEDICAL CONSCIENCE CLAUSES
9. "The trend toward accepting the
termination of some human lives as a normal
part of medicine is accelerating ... Courts,
policymakers, media leaders - even the
elites of organized medicine - increasingly
assert that patient rights and respect for
patients’ choices should trump the
consciences of medical professionals.
Indeed, the time may soon arrive when
doctors, nurses, and pharmacists will be
compelled to take, or be complicit in the
taking of, human life, regardless of their
strong religious or moral objections
thereto." (Westlie
J. Smith, 2009). Should
doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other
medical professionals be granted the right
to refuse participation in the provision of
medical services that violate the
person's moral, ethical or religious
beliefs?
YES
DEATH PENALTY
10. The death penalty in the United States
should:
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_____ not be used
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_____ be
used about the same
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_____ be
used less
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__x___ be
used more
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GAMING
11. A
proposed casino off I-5 near Ridgefield is
projected to be one of the largest in the
nation. What is your position on the
building of this casino? The latest
news can be found here
on the Citizens Against Reservation Shopping
blog.
NO OPINION – I don’t know enough about this
issue.
QUALIFICATIONS AND COMMENTS
12. Please state your qualifications for
office such as professional, educational,
family and community accomplishments.
You may also add any any further comments
regarding the relationship of your candidacy
to respect life issues.
I am endorsed by Human Life of Washington.
13. Do you have
a campaign website? What is the
address?
JoyceMcDonald.com
WEBSITE POSTING PERMISSION
14. May Life Pac post
your survey response on its website?
Yes
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