New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is under fire from one of his Republican presidential competitors, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, for allegedly donating to Planned Parenthood in the past.
“Chris Christie personally contributed to Planned Parenthood,” Rubio said last week on Fox Business Network. “I just don’t think this country can afford to elect a president that will not stand up and undo the damage Barack Obama has done to this country.”
Christie adamantly denied the charge Sunday on CBS: “I never donated to Planned Parenthood, so that’s wrong. For him to be trying to characterize my conservative record in that way is contrary to what Marco himself said. Marco himself has said that I was a conservative reformer in New Jersey.”
The accusation stems from Bob Ingle’s 2012 biography of Christie, which quotes him as citing his own personal financial support for the abortion giant as a reason it did not require taxpayer funding.
“I support Planned Parenthood privately with my personal contribution and that should be the goal of any agency, to find private donations,” he reportedly said in 1994. “I would consider all groups looking for funding, but there is a limit and we have to pick and choose. ”
The Weekly Standard attempted to follow up with Christie’s campaign, which reiterated the declaration that “he never donated per his comments this morning,” but refused to comment on the biography quote.
Christie has been open about the broader issue of his being a convert to the pro-life cause, having been convinced by the ultrasound of his preborn daughter: “And I heard that heartbeat. That’s a life. And it—it led to me having a real reflection on my position. And when I took time to reflect on it, I just said, you know what, I’m not comfortable with that anymore. That was back in 1995, and I’ve been pro-life ever since.”
