Survey Response:
2012 State Questionnaire
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
|
If not, when? ___ 3 mths ___ 6
mths ___ 9 mths ___ 1 yr ___ 18 yrs? |
|
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:
|
__X___ No, it's never permissible
_Maybe_ Yes, to save mother's life
_____ Yes, in cases of rape or incest
____ Yes, for physical deformity
|
_____ Yes, for gender _____ Yes, for race _____ Yes, to punish
spouse _____ Yes, it's always permissible
|
EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS AND CLONING
5. Do you oppose
embryonic stem cell
research
or 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. Will you promote/support parental involvement laws (with
judicial override) for minors when seeking an
abortion?
To my knowledge, I am the only Senator to ever sponsor and successfully pass
parental notification law in the state senate. It was killed in the House.
Yes
MEDICAL
CONSCIENCE CLAUSES
7.
"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
PHYSICIAN ASSISTED SUICIDE
8.
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 the
availability of physician assisted suicide in Washington State?
I
have publicly come out against it.
Yes
MARRIAGE PRESERVATION
9. 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?
I have been a consistent vocal opponent of Gay marriage and civil union
laws.
Yes
PUBLIC SCHOOL SEX EDUCATION
10. The Washington State Legislature in 2007 passed
ESSB 5297 requiring school
districts to teach "scientifically accurate" (aka comprehensive) sex education,
if they teach sex ed at all. The typical comprehensive sex education program
spends as little as 5% of the time teaching abstinence principles (Zogby
3/27/07), instead spending significantly more time teaching students
how to put condoms on models of male genitalia and promoting alternative forms
of sexual activity called outercourse, which may include showering together and
mutual masturbation as effective ways to avoid pregnancy and disease. In
contrast, an emphasis on abstinence means teaching students about building
healthy relationships and bolstering self worth and self-control.
Given
that ESSB 5297 allows school districts a wide range in how the
law is applied, will you work to maximize sex education that is wholesome, not
dehumanizing and truly safe?
I vehemently opposed this bill on the Senate Floor and was ACTIVE in the
debate against this bill and voted no.
I support abstinence education programs.
DEATH PENALTY
11. The death penalty in the United States should:
be used more
GAMING
12.
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?
QUALIFICATIONS AND COMMENTS
13. 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.
Boy Scouts of America - Boy Scout Leader
Crisis Pregnancy Center Donor
14. Do you have a campaign website? What is the
address?
www.senatordonbenton.com
WEBSITE POSTING PERMISSION
15. May LIFE PAC post your survey response on its website?
Yes
