Clinton Hits China Policy on Abortion
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

WASHINGTON – Amid an intensifying hubbub over alleged intelligence failures during the lead-up to war in Iraq, and louder calls for America to abandon its efforts to foster democracy there, Senator Clinton proclaimed her support for ending lawlessness in the Middle East yesterday while denouncing Wednesday’s terrorist attacks in Jordan.
The senator also took a stand against China, lambasting the communist nation for its policy of “forced abortion” and issuing a request to President Bush that he take the Chinese president, Hu Jintao, to task for the nation’s human rights abuses when President Bush visits China next week.
Mrs. Clinton’s hawkish comments came as she faces an increasing backlash from the anti-war movement for her ongoing support for military action in Iraq, which, according to political analysts, has “painted her into a corner” as she pursues the presidency in 2008 – all but guaranteeing that a serious anti-war candidate will challenge her for the Democratic nomination.
Mrs. Clinton, delivering the keynote address at the American Bar Association’s symposium on the “International Rule of Law,” extended at the beginning of the speech her “condolences and sympathy” to the people of Jordan in the wake of an Al Qaeda attack in Amman that killed dozens.
The bombings, Mrs. Clinton continued, were a “further brutal reminder of the importance of the rule of law, and the necessity of our efforts to spread the rule of law and help to embed it in societies as a guarantee not only of freedom but against violence.”
Later in her remarks, the senator targeted the Chinese government for its one-child policy, which she labeled a “fundamental injustice.” Mrs. Clinton disclosed that she had sent a letter to President Bush asking him to take up that matter and other human rights issues with President Hu. In the letter, Mrs. Clinton urged President Bush to “make clear the United States strongly opposes these abuses” – among them forced abortion and sterilization, restrictions on religious freedom, the lack of workers’ rights, and the oppression of Tibet.
Mrs. Clinton’s call for America to continue the worldwide spread of freedom that has become the hallmark of the Bush presidency met with criticism yesterday, as some said her comments insinuated that Jordan lacked “the rule of law,” calling the remarks “patronizing.” Mrs. Clinton, who voted to authorize the Iraq war and has consistently voted to keep funding it, has recently become the subject of mounting attacks by an itinerant war-protesting mother, Cindy Sheehan, and other elements of the antiwar movement.
Mrs. Clinton will now have to “pay a price for all of this, all these lost lives and wasted money,” a spokesman for United for Peace and Justice, William Dobbs, told The New York Sun. UPJ is the largest coalition of antiwar organizations in the country, representing around 1,200 activist groups.
“It’s always amazing to me that there are people who think Clinton is somehow a liberal,” Mr. Dobbs added. “Her position on this war has been horrendous.”
Outrage over posturing on the war, the activist continued, had all but assured that Mrs. Clinton will face demonstrations against her as she seeks re-election to the Senate from New York in 2006, and will result in a serious challenge to her from an antiwar Democrat in 2008.
“There’s active discussion on the West Coast about Dianne Feinstein possibly running against her,” Mr. Dobbs said, referring to California’s senior Democratic senator. Senator Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts and failed 2004 presidential contender, had also been making steps toward ingratiating himself with the “peace movement,” Mr. Dobbs added. Yesterday, Mr. Kerry introduced Senate legislation that would affect an American withdrawal from Iraq within 12 to 15 months.
A veteran national pollster based in upstate New York, John Zogby, said that while he was skeptical of a Feinstein challenge to Mrs. Clinton in 2008, he was certain a credible candidate would emerge to attack Mrs. Clinton from her left flank.
“There will be an antiwar candidate,” Mr. Zogby predicted, adding: “That’s what the base demands.”
Democratic Senators Feingold, of Wisconsin; Dodd, of Connecticut; and Biden, of Delaware, could make the most viable options, the pollster said, because they are senior members of their party with a consistent record of opposing the war.
Citing an episode in 1967 when former House Speaker “Tip” O’Neill won plaudits by becoming the first prominent Democrat to openly turn against the Vietnam war, Mr. Zogby said that the first Democratic senator to have a “Tip O’Neill moment” on Iraq would be Mrs. Clinton’s anti-war opponent.
In the meantime, Mr. Zogby said, New York’s junior senator had “painted herself into a corner” on Iraq. By maintaining her stand on the war, Mr. Zogby said, Mrs. Clinton grows increasingly unpopular with the Democratic base, but backtracking would open her up to attacks for being a “flip-flopper.”
Calls to Mrs. Clinton’s office seeking comment yesterday went unreturned.
The remainder of Mrs. Clinton’s ABA speech yesterday focused on increasing the freedom of women and girls at home and abroad.
Despite denouncing China’s policy of “forced abortion,” Mrs. Clinton said during her speech that a lack of access to “reproductive health services” was one of the primary obstacles to equal rights for women around the world. She said America needed to “ensure that women enjoy the fundamental right to plan their own families and have access to family-planning services,” criticizing the Bush administration for imposing a “gag rule” that prevents American taxpayer money from funding abortions abroad.