By Heather Grossmann
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
KIPS BAY — It’s been 18 years since a U.S. Senate candidate in New York has won without the endorsement of NARAL Pro-Choice New York, the statewide abortion rights advocacy group. But it doesn't look like that will stop Harold Ford Jr. from trying.
The former Tennessee congressman and potential Senate candidate met with NARAL New York president Kelly Conlin at the organization's Kips Bay headquarters on Tuesday morning, despite the group's endorsement of Ford's rival, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
Ford has been quoted repeatedly as saying he is pro-life, but he insisted on Tuesday he is "staunchly, defiantly and consistently pro-choice" and that his use of of the term "pro-life" has nothing to do with abortion rights.
"I said I was pro-life thousands of times through my Tennessee Senate race in an effort to describe what I thought was the right frame to support other social issues, including increased education spending for children, increased health care spending for children and even to support broader veterans' benefits," Ford told reporters after the meeting.
But NARAL New York spokeswoman Samantha Levine called use of the term "pro-life" an "important signifier" for one's position on a woman's right to choose.
"It's really hard to imagine that an elected official or a candidate and advocate would use that word without an understanding of how people would interpret them," she said.
Levine characterized the meeting as "pleasant," but said that Ford refused to budge on his support of a ban on late-term abortions and parental consent, two positions she called "intolerable" to NARAL.
Following the meeting, Ford's spokesman handed out a sheet highlighting his voting record on the issue, including a list of ratings from NARAL's national advocacy group and Planned Parenthood. Both organizations graded Ford positively at various points during his decade in Congress, including a "100 percent" rating from NARAL national in 2004.
"We consider him mixed choice," Levine said of Ford's stance on abortion. "We've said he's not pro-choice, but he's not anti-choice"
Ford described his meeting with NARAL New York as "very positive" and said that he would meet with the group again should he decide to enter the race.
