Harry Reid keynote at YearlyKos 2006, originally uploaded by snorfbat.

The Family Research Council appropriately blasts Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid for his criticism of the Supreme Court’s partial-birth abortion ruling. When asked about it today, Reid said, “I would only say that this is the only decision a lot of us wish that Alito weren’t there and O’Connor were there.” FRC’s Tom McClusky responds:

Considering Senator Reid voted for the partial birth abortion ban every time it has come up in Congress I would say an explanation is warranted from the self described pro-life Senator from Nevada. Partial Birth Abortion is a gruesome procedure akin to infanticide and its ban is supported by over 70 percent of the American people. Senator Reid’s statement would seem to imply that he supports the procedure and wishes the Supreme Court had not upheld the ban.

This is not the first time Senator Reid has been duplicitous when it comes to popular pro-life measures. In the 109th Congress he voted for legislation that would have required parental notification for children seeking an abortion, yet after voting FOR the bill he was instrumental in using Senate procedure to make sure it never reached the President’s desk to be signed.

Senator Reid needs to know being pro-life is not a multiple choice question. He needs to clarify his actions or stop deceiving his constituents that he support the sanctity of life.

Adds Curt Levey, executive director of the Committee for Justice:

Is Sen. Reid saying that he voted for the federal ban hoping it would be overturned by the Supreme Court? Is he saying that he voted for what he believes to be an unconstitutional law? Or was he just hoping that he could score points with the Left by bashing President Bush’s Supreme Court picks, without pro-life voters in his home state of Nevada noticing the contradiction?