Steele denounces Roe at pro-life gathering

Bishop absent over GOP leader
By Ralph Z. Hallow
Friday, April 17, 2009

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele, the most controversial Republican national chairman in recent memory, and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the biggest star in the party's political firmament, shared the spotlight on Thursday at a pro-life dinner attended by about 3,000 persons in Evansville, Ind.

The speech at the Right to Life dinner was a key test of his pro-life credentials for those in the party who doubt Mr. Steele's big tent explanations for why he helped found a prominent pro-choice GOP organization and joined another.

As expected, Bishop Gerald Andrew Gettelfinger of Evansville boycotted the dinner, which he normally attends. He had decided Mr. Steele's position on abortion was at best ambiguous -- a conclusion he reached after Mr. Steele failed to persuade him that he was truly pro-life during a talk between the two men last month. the rest

Palin stands against abortion during Ind. speech