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Carolyn Schofield, a GOP primary challenger to incumbent IL State Rep Allen Skillicorn (R-East Dundee), evaded a question from 66th District Republican voters, refusing to declare whether she holds pro-life or pro-choice views, according to a video taken during the discussion.
The question from a Dundee Township Republican was, “Do you consider yourself pro-life?”
“I don’t consider myself either, because I am more policy-driven,” Schofield said.
“You have to be one of the other,” another person said. […]
“Abortion is a big issue to voters, and they deserve to know where legislative candidates stand,” Skillicorn said. “Unfortunately, my opponent won’t commit to one position. She can’t have it both ways. The voters deserve to know where she stands on one of the most important issues of our time.”
* The video…
* Schofield posted a super-long statement on Facebook…
Since many people have recently asked me my stance on abortion I wanted to post it here. I have not used specific verbiage because people are varied in what the words mean to them and I have witnessed first hand legislators use the opposite wording to describe the same position. I feel this is insincere and misleading. This is a topic worthy of heartfelt conversation and not a quick demanding response. I am not posting to spark controversy but to clarify the many lies that have been spread about my position on this issue. I sent a similar message in my questionnaire to the pro life pac. Instead of reading the first line and saying you are not this or you are not that, please read as this is a sincere and truthful response.
I will explain to you my position and you can put me in the category that you think fits. You will see why I am challenged when asked the question as I have thought at length about this issue. As a woman and a mother it is extremely personal and heartfelt of an issue for me. So here you go…First of all Roe vs Wade is settled law.
Personally I am pro-life. I have 3 children, both planned and unplanned. They are a blessing, the center of my world, and I thank God every day for them. That being said, I could not imagine telling a parent whose young daughter has been raped what they should do. I would hope that the government would stay out of those decisions and let medical professionals and parents make those decisions.
I support parental consent. I oppose state funded abortions and I would support the repeal of the Reproductive Health Act.
As an engineer my brain works to solve problems and this is no different. I do not want to give a two word answer I want to propose a solution.
I think the core issue is stopping abortion all together. In Illinois we had over 40,000 abortions in the latest statistic. That is mind blowing yet no one is talking about this, as they get so caught up in a two word answers. Why are people having abortions and how do we make the other options so acceptable that it is no longer a choice they want to make. What we really should be doing is making it easier and more affordable to adopt and more supportive for single and working women to be pregnant and have young children. Instead of saying to someone “I can’t believe you could give your baby up,” why don’t we say “that takes a lot of courage and selflessness. You are going to be giving the best gift anyone can give to a family”. As a woman running for office people have said to me that I should be home with my kids and not going to Springfield. Why is that? My kids have a wonderful father that can provide for them in my absence. I have put my career on hold for 15 years to give to them and my community and have found a balance that works for my family, yet people feel the need to pass judgement. I feel I am a role model to my daughter and an example for my sons of what support they can offer to their future wives. Mothers offer amazing perspective, experience, leadership, and organizational skills. We should be embracing them at every level yet we judge them. We judge on how they parent, why they parent, why the don’t parent, etc. We make it difficult for women to achieve acceptable balance.
Beyond that we need to look at why are people getting pregnant and not wanting the pregnancy. Do we need more education on birth control, Sex Ed, more substance abuse programs, mental health, etc. What is the root cause? We need to find out and that is what we should be addressing and creating policy to support. That way people will no longer have unwanted pregnancies and this question will be mute.
So put me in any category you would like but I have spent a lot of time and energy and thinking through how we can actually solve this problem. I will not let someone wanting to put two words on me, or a spliced 20 second video clip, discourage what I believe is the right thing to do. I know this is not the quick two words people want, but it is the truth. I think many politicians state whatever two words people want to hear and never have to be held accountable. That solves nothing. Is that really what people want? I want to actually solve the problem that over 40,000 abortions a year are performed in Illinois alone. No matter what side you are on, I will listen to you, work with, and try to solve the core issue of stopping abortions all together. That should not be a partisan issue.
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 1:20 pm
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This is an impressive statement.
Comment by Lake Effect Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 1:29 pm
I appreciate that this candidate refuses to accept that a party has a single-issue, litmus test. I read her response as coming from a conservative, but not mandating a forced solution upon all citizens. Just because we have two primary parties, that should not mean we only have “my way or the highway” solutions to social life in our very diverse and complex social realities.
Comment by H-W Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 1:30 pm
=== “You have to be one of the other,” another person said.===
1,000% why the Raunerites, (who “turned on” Bruce and Diana Rauner, but we’re still cool with the hurting Illinois got because of them) and before them the Slytherins, who made the party a religious crusade that required 100% uniformity, including pro-life… and has led to shrinkage of what was formerly a big tent party.
It came back to bite Bruce and Diana Rauner, but it was that religious uniformity that gave them “no &$@#% problems” for almost 3 years.
If Skillicorn wins, it will be, not the conservatives or hard core republicans that always vote, it will be the zealots that save Skillicorn from the rational.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 1:30 pm
As a solid Dem, I’m ready to donate to her campaign just because of this balanced, well reasoned response
Comment by Impressed Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 1:35 pm
This is one of the best answers I have seen on the abortion issue. It closely resembles my personal feelings. Having said that, it is a losing position. Zealots on both sides will be crusading against this type of open minded thought.
Comment by Ducky LaMoore Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 1:35 pm
=== Zealots on both sides===
Pertaining to the party, “formerly known as”, the ILGOP, it’s the pro-life platform needing 100% conformity.
The reason this is a big deal is because in this specific instance it’s the GOP and Skillicorn with uniformity issues.
With respect.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 1:38 pm
What a great response. Very impressive; it would be nice to see more like it. The cynic in me can see people reading it and responding “But, are you pro choice or pro life?” The optimist in me hopes for better.
Comment by Pot calling kettle Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 1:38 pm
That’s called class
Comment by t Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 1:42 pm
We need more thoughtful people in the legislature. All of us are asking for it. Assuming she makes it past the primary as a thoughtful moderate conservative, Cosgrove and Co. will label her an extremist in the general - unfortunate
Comment by Former Candidate on the Ballot Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 1:54 pm
I am impressed.
Although I disagree with her positions on the RHA, state funding, and parental consent, I applaud her thoughtful, nuanced views.
It’s been a long time since I’ve heard a politician say, in effect, “This is too complicated for a sound bite.”
Good for her.
Comment by JoanP Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 1:55 pm
Pertaining to party, the Democratic Party with over 20 million Pro Life members, demands 100% conformity to taxpayer funded abortion on demand for all 9 months
Comment by Lucky Pierre Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 1:56 pm
==it’s the pro-life platform needing 100% conformity==
Uh, Ducky LaMoore us right, this is not just a left right issue. Remember, prior to the 2016 election, Hilary Clinton used to say abortion should be safe and available, but rare. She had to cut out the “rare” part in the 2016 election. Remember the “outcry” relating to the Doritos’s Super Bowl commercial featuring a woman who was full term? So saying its only the pro-life community, and not the pro choice community, that requires 100% conformity is obviously not correct.
To the post, excellent Facebook response by the candidate.
Comment by Simply Sayin' Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 1:57 pm
=== Zealots on both sides===
I have yet to meet the person demanding that all pregnancies be aborted.
===
I have met plenty of people demanding that the state take action to force a pregnancies be carried to term.
===Do we need more education on birth control, Sex Ed, more substance abuse programs, mental health, etc. What is the root cause? ===
While I understand her statement, I think that the answer to the question she is proposing already exists and that she should have both anticipated this question and been prepared to talk about the specifics of what she would like to propose.
Comment by Candy Dogood Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 2:00 pm
Her long statement contains mostly things profilers agree with. So why power dive to the 2.5% of victims who have an abortion?
Because she’s going to have a Durbin patented “growth” moment after election?
There is a reason why she was pressed on the issue.
And why are prolifers zealots but personal pac isn’t??
And before you ask about the number..
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/8765248/
Comment by Fav human Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 2:01 pm
=== And why are prolifers zealots but…===
(Sigh)
Again, in the context of the party formerly known as the ILGOP…
It’s pro-life or “get out”.
The zealots within the party that require this conformity to the platform with religious zeal is *my* point.
The politics at play within the party, forcing uniformity and aiding the zealots.
Questions?
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 2:04 pm
“I have yet to meet the person demanding that all pregnancies be aborted.”
Told ya.
Comment by Ducky LaMoore Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 2:16 pm
“First of all Roe vs Wade is settled law.”
It is until it isn’t. If it were “settled” why are there so many lawsuits to overturn it?
Comment by Huh? Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 2:18 pm
“As an engineer”
Not allowed to call yourself an engineer without the license.
Comment by Huh? Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 2:23 pm
Good Answer. But as others have said, the Dems demand much more abortion purity. So I would take her over any Dem.
Comment by NeverPoliticallyCorrect Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 2:27 pm
“The politics at play within the party, forcing uniformity and aiding the zealots.
Questions?”
I’ll ask Dan Lipinski his thoughts.
“Engineer”
That’s only for civil engineers. Places like Motorola and Lucent used to be chock full of engineers, 99% of whom didn’t have a PE or even EiT
Comment by Fav human Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 2:29 pm
=== I’ll ask Dan Lipinski his thoughts.===
Narrator: Congressman Lipinski isn’t a Republican.
Any *other* questions?
LOL
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 2:33 pm
I applaud her talking about this in a thoughtful way. Hers is a realistic position. Therefore, she’ll probably pay the price in the primary.
Abortion is the biggest wedge issue, and so many well-meaning people are being manipulated by politicians with the quick answers and other agendas. Several years ago I realized the only real solution is to remove it from the legislative realm. Want to end or reduce abortion? Work with families, women, doctors, for more education, and in your communities. You don’t have to agree with everything she said to agree with her basic approach.
Comment by Don't Bloc Me In Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 2:44 pm
“- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 2:33 pm:”
That only proves that the Democrats are trying to push out pro-lifers. Many elected Democrats are trying to defeat him. You did not make a good point
LOL
Comment by NIU Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 3:18 pm
I was seeing her answer as reasonable and sensible, focusing on solutions incentivize people toward other options. Far better than forcing people or making decisions for them. However, when she got to the matter of “why” people get pregnant, and she was unable to say outright whether sex ed is critical, she lost me. It began to feel like a hollow avoidance. Better her than others, though.
Comment by Jibba Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 3:19 pm
=== That only proves that the Democrats are trying to push out pro-lifers. Many elected Democrats are trying to defeat him. You did not make a good point===
I don’t *care* what the Democrats are doing… this race is a Republican primary.
Since the point is this race, in this party, it’s no matter to me what Dan Lipinski thinks, or how it is received in his primary.
Capiche?
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 3:21 pm
===Therefore, she’ll probably pay the price in the primary.===
Very sad but true. I was courted heavily by my local Rs, including one of the 15, but will not consent to join them until an attitude like Schofield’s is welcomed again, so, probably not in my remaining lifetime. For full disclosure, when I lived in the city, the Ds almost got me, but I was told I was too moderate for them.
Comment by Proud Sucker Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 3:23 pm
The whataboutism is strong in this thread. People, move along.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 3:25 pm
She didn’t answer the real question. People want to know when, if ever, she thinks abortion should be legal. She said it should be legal in cases of rape, so that leaves us with three possibilities: legal always, legal nearly always, or legal in extreme circumstances. The easy way for her to answer this is to say if abortion should be legal in the first trimester with a physically healthy woman and a physically healthy unborn human/pregnancy?
Comment by Chris Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 3:27 pm
She appears to be significantly more thoughtful than the run of the mill IL House candidate, most of whom are exponentially less articulate than Ms. Schofield.
Squirrelcorn pales in comparison. She represents what the IL GOP could be . . . . . .
Comment by Say What? Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 3:48 pm
===“You have to be one of the other,” another person said. […]===
‘Murika, the magical land where there are only two sides to every issue.
Comment by Nick Name Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 3:57 pm
=== She didn’t answer the real question.===
Yes she did.
1. “ Personally I am pro-life.”
2. “ I think the core issue is stopping abortion all together.“
That means stopping abortion by the best means possible, not phony virtue signaling laws that have no effect.
Comment by Da Big Bad Wolf Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 4:43 pm
The problem I have with her position is that the GOP has been fighting tooth and nail to get rid of things we know reduce abortion — good sex ed, easily accessible birth control, better educational opportunities for women, better funding of education, financial and social support for young families — since 1980 at least.
If her goal is to pursue common-sense, evidence-backed policies that reduce the number of abortions, why is she in the GOP, which objects to basically every policy known to reduce abortions? (Fun fact: making abortion illegal doesn’t reduce the number of them, it just makes them more dangerous as people seek back-alley abortions.)
Comment by Suburban Mom Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 5:41 pm
Skillicorn released only 36 seconds of a nearly 6 minutes discussion on Right to Life back on February 5th. That’s what was posted on Illinois Review, presumably from a Skillicorn press release.
Here’s what Skillicorn omitted from the video in his release, what Schofield actually said last month:
-She opposed what the Democrats did in Springfield last year with the passage of the Reproductive Health Act as a “horrific decision that they [Democrats] made”
-Thinks the Reproductive Health Act should be repealed
-In favor of parental consent, and passionately backed it up concerning her daughter
-Passage of Reproductive Health Act was sad to see
-Wants to stop all abortions, including the 40,000 performed in Illinois last year
-Wants to stop state funding of abortions
-Wants to stop the root cause of abortions
-Would stand with the Pro-Life Movement
But don’t take my word, watch the full Right to Life discussion from the meeting video from February 5th, and judge for yourself.
Cued to when the Pro-Life question is asked:
https://youtu.be/6mlNa-T-8fU?t=788
Comment by John Lopez Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 5:47 pm
- John Lopez -
Are you connected to the Schofield campaign?
Thanks.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 5:52 pm
the abortion issue is not applicable to every….single…elected office in the State. Its a US Supreme Court decision, anyone else opining on it is just woofin’ I understand that its a HUGE litmus test for Dems….see Lipinski e.g.
Comment by park Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 8:46 pm
Kudos to Schofield. I’ve voted for many Republicans and Democrats in my life and this has never influenced me one way or another. It has no impact on me. The issue exists only to divide people. There are any number of things that I look for in a representative. This aint’ one of them.
Comment by Pundent Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 8:53 pm
Oswego Willy, no I am not.
Just a discerning district voter who applies discernment where it’s needed, and clearly is needed here.
Comment by John Lopez Friday, Mar 13, 20 @ 11:38 am
- John Lopez -
Thank you.
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Mar 13, 20 @ 11:50 am