Ferrer Questions Mayor’s Stance on Abortion While Bloomberg Touts ‘Morning-After’ Bill
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.
The front-runner in the Democratic mayoral race, Fernando Ferrer, questioned Mayor Bloomberg’s stance on abortion rights yesterday – just as the mayor was out in Brooklyn, talking about his support for a bill that would allow women to buy the “morning-after pill” without a prescription.
At 12:55 p.m., Mr. Ferrer’s campaign office sent out a blistering attack on Mr. Bloomberg, faulting the mayor for not convincing Governor Pataki to sign the Unintended Pregnancy Prevention Act passed a month ago in Albany.
“Mike Bloomberg can’t have it both ways. He can’t call himself ‘pro-choice,’ then give money and tacit support to those who want to do away with choice,” Mr. Ferrer said in the statement.
Less than a half-hour later, Mr. Bloomberg told reporters he was “disappointed” with the governor’s decision to veto the bill and said he would “like to see this piece of legislation get enacted.”
On July 21, the abortion-rights group NARAL Pro-Choice America threw its support behind Mr. Bloomberg, praising the mayor’s record on emergency contraception. Yesterday, the group leapt to the mayor’s defense.
“Mayor Bloomberg’s commitment to emergency contraception access has been proven both in his personal statements and in his public record,” its executive director, Kelli Conlin, said in a statement.
That didn’t faze the Ferrer campaign yesterday afternoon. Its press secretary, Christy Setzer, said: “Bloomberg found plenty of time to stand proudly with Governor Pataki to welcome President Bush and the Republican Party to New York City.
It’s a shame he can’t find the same time and energy to urge Pataki to protect freedom of choice for New York women.”
The Bloomberg campaign spokesman, Stuart Loeser, shot back that the Bronx Democrat is not one to criticize the mayor’s record on emergency contraception and abortion.
“Freddy would be well served to stop flip-flopping on major moral issues before he attacks a candidate who has never, ever wavered on them,” he said.
Mr. Loeser was referring to comments made in 1996 by Mr. Ferrer, who was quoted then in the New York Times as saying, “I have problems with unlimited abortions. You know? Every time a mother hiccups, that’s no reason to abort a child.”
