Prominent Pro-Life Senator To Speak At Democratic Convention

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA), a prominent anti-abortion advocate, will be speaking on the Democratic National Convention, according to reports. His selection signals efforts by party officials to prevent Catholics and pro-life Democrats from being alienated during a historic election year.

Casey is the son of former Pennsylvania Gov. Robert P. Casey, who was refused a prime time speaking slot in the 1992 Democratic National Convention in New York City. He endorsed endorsed Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) in March.

The first-term Pennsylvania senator will speak on the second day of the convention, the same day en. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) is scheduled to speak.

Casey supports overturning Roe v. Wade, a landmark Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion. He is also against embryonic stem-cell research.

Obama, on the other hand, has said he will make "preserving women's rights under Roe v. Wade a priority as President." The Democratic candidate sponsored the Freedom of Choice Act, which allows late-term abortions based on a mother's "mental health." He also opposed the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act as an Illinois state legislator, a stance which Republicans have frequently lambasted.

The senior Casey's being denied a speaking role at the 1992 convention has been attributed to his staunch opposition to abortion. The former governor was in fact kept from addressing Democrats because he had refused to endorse then Democratic nominee Bill Clinton.

A popular 1996 New Republic article quotes James Carville as saying, "It's [Casey's claim that he was denied a convention speech because of his pro-life views] just not factual! You'd have to be idiotic to give a speaking role to a person who hadn't even endorsed you." The same report cites speeches from seven pro-life advocates during the 1992 Democratic convention.

Nonprofit watchdog Media Matters has also also repeatedly corrected news reports about what has been dubbed the "Casey myth," saying anti-abortion speakers have spoken at every Democratic convention since 1992, including former House Democratic Whip David Bonior in 1996 and 2000, and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in 2000 and 2004.