Barbara Bush

Tier 4


Barbara Bush

Former First Lady (R)


Tier 4 - Personhood Never


In her interviews, it seems Barbara Bush would rather ignore the issue of abortion altogether but will offer up a quick opinion when asked directly about abortion. To her, abortion is not a priority. Her number one issue is literacy.
  • Abortion should be ignored: First lady Barbara Bush shakes up Republicans when she says abortion has no place in the party platform. 1  - Ann Curry anchor: The President’s own wife is at odds with the Republican Party’s platform builders on the subject of abortion. Barbara Bush says abortion is a personal matter and has no place on any party platform. -Lisa Myers reporting: Mrs. Bush took dead aim at the party’s hard-line abortion platform. She said, “I’m not being outspoken pro or con [on] abortion. I’m saying abortion should not be in there, either pro or con.” - [Prolife Profiles: As with saying such about slavery or the Holocaust, Mrs. Bush is taking a pro-choice position.] - Lisa Myers: When told her comments had been interpreted as favoring abortion rights, she replied, “Really?” which is as close as Barbara Bush has come to publicly confirming the widespread suspicion that she favors abortion rights. Republicans who fought unsuccessfully to change the platform say this was no accident.

  •  Friends chimed in: It was reported that her friends said Barbara Bush privately favored abortion rights. 2

  •  OK to kill within first three months: Barbara Bush supports abortion in the first trimester. 3

  •  Grandchildren can be killed with permission: Barbara Bush has said that parental consent is “very important,” and agreed with her son, George W., “… that abortion is all right in the case [sic] of rape, incest, and the life of the mother.“ 3

  • Abortion not major: Barbara stated that the issue of abortion is not difficult for her at all and that it is not a major item with her. 3

  • Women closest to George W. Bush support abortion rights: His mother, Barbara, once said she hates abortions but just could not make that choice for someone else. 4  This is reminiscent of the reported comment from a U.S. Senator's wife that the greatest evil in the world was slavery, except for abolition.

  • Former president reveals his insight: Gerald Ford told Newsweek in 1995, “I know [censored] well that he [George H. W. Bush] and Barbara are pro-choice.” 5

  • Backs abortion in N.Y. case: Mrs. Bush was “grateful” for a court decision paving the way for a comatose woman’s abortion. 6

  • Degrees of pro-choice: Charlie Rose asked Barbara Bush if she was pro-choice. Mrs. Bush answered, “Yes, but you know, there’s a degree of pro-choice. I am the nth degree.” She went on to repeat the politically-safe Republican mantra which is the foundation 7  of the abortion industry, that abortion is acceptable for rape, incest, and life of the mother. Went on to say she likes pro-abort Hillary Clinton 8  9  and refused to criticize her. Later on she said abortion is not a priority for her. 10

  • More liberal on abortion: Barbara Bush has more moderate views than the president on issues such as abortion. 11

  • Reluctant to speak out on abortion: Barbara Bush keeps quiet on abortion. She says, "Speaking out [on child killing] would create controversy whichever way I go,” 12  and that would detract from her work on literacy, etc. Once a baby girl is dismembered though, it's too late to teach her how to read.

Summary: This wife of a former Republican president places the issue of abortion on about the same level as the issue of who will be the next Washington D.C. dog catcher. She admits, "It's not a priority with me," even though she doesn't believe abortions should be performed after the first trimester. Her big thing is literacy, if the child is not killed by abortion, that is. So, to Barbara Bush, literacy isn't her priority for them, obviously.​​​​​​​