Texas Republican Candidate For U.S. House Sekula-Gibbs Says She Has Changed Stance On Abortion Rights Since 2001

Houston City Council member Shelley Sekula-Gibbs (R-Texas), who is running for the U.S. House, recently said she has changed her position on abortion rights since running for city council in 2001, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports. Sekula-Gibbs on a 2001 Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas questionnaire -- released Thursday by her opponent, former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson (D-Texas) -- answered "yes" to a question asking if she supported "a woman's right to choose abortion" and "public funding for family planning services to reduce unintended pregnancies." Sekula-Gibbs, a write-in candidate seeking the seat of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), in an e-mail said, "Over the years, my position on abortion has become more conservative. This is partly because of the growing scientific evidence that fetuses feel pain and embryos are far more than just a collection of cells." She added, "I would allow for abortions only in the circumstance where the life of the mother is in jeopardy or following rape or incest." Lampson on Thursday said, "The public clearly ought to know where a candidate stands from one year to the next. This is not the kind of policy that candidates ought to be involved in." Lampson said he supports current abortion law but opposes so-called "partial-birth" abortion and federal funding of abortion (Stinebaker, AP/Houston Chronicle, 11/2).

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