When Life and Death Matter.

Editor's note. This first appeared in the Washington Times and is reprinted with the author's permission.

Kate Michelman has long been the most devoted, tireless advocate for abortion rights. She resigned as president of NARAL Pro-Choice America because of her conviction that "[this] is the most important presidential election of my lifetime, and I want to bring to bear everything I've done in my life to helping John Kerry become the next president."

It's easy to see why she supports Mr. Kerry so strongly. In a July 22 interview with ABC News anchor Peter Jennings, Mr. Kerry said: "Let me tell you very clearly that being pro-choice is not pro-abortion." A consistent defender of Roe v. Wade during his 20 years in the Senate, Mr. Kerry nonetheless told Mr. Jennings that "in the fertilization process ... a human being is first formed and created, and that's when life begins."

But doesn't abortion kill a human being? Mr. Kerry says that Roe v. Wade sets the standard for viability "as to whether or not you're permitted to terminate a pregnancy, and I support that." (Note the euphemism "terminate.") But isn't human life a biological continuum from the very beginning?

Mr. Kerry has even voted against bills which, if passed, would have ended partial-birth abortion. And he voted against the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which recognizes the unborn child as a victim when he or she is injured or killed in the commission of a violent federal crime. The law specifically exempts all forms of legal abortion from any penalty under this legislation. The Senate adopted the measure by a vote of 61-38.

Polls show that about 80 percent of the public agrees with "Laci and Conner's" law (named after the pregnant mother and unborn son allegedly murdered by husband Scott Peterson). And 18 states have fetal homicide laws that designate unborn children as victims throughout the extent of prenatal development.

But it's Mr. Kerry's unwavering opposition to the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act that especially underscores his loyalty to "pro-choice" doctrine. (So much for his concern about the "viability" standard for terminating life.) He voted six times against the ban on partial-birth abortion. (The president signed the ban into law in November 2003.)