WASHINGTON -- In a speech that closely weaved the political and personal, Sarah Palin on Friday blasted President Barack Obama as the "most pro-abortion president" ever and said she understands the plight of women considering an abortion "because I've been there."
Speaking to an anti-abortion rights group in Washington, the former Alaska governor and possible 2012 presidential candidate aimed her remarks at conservative women, whom she addressed as "sisters" and likened to "mama grizzlies" fighting to protect their country.
"If you thought pit bulls are tough, you don't want to mess with the mama grizzlies," Palin said, putting a new twist on a line from her 2008 vice presidential run.
Palin recently has aligned herself with the "tea party" movement, an anti-tax coalition that has tried to avoid social issues such as abortion. But Palin's remarks Friday were a reminder of her roots as a passionate anti-abortion voice on the right.
She praised both groups on Friday, calling the tea party movement a woman-powered "mom awakening" that would drive Republicans into office and urging anti-abortion advocates to banish incumbents who voted for the health care bill.
"We won't forget those who promised to hold firm against government funding of abortion, but caved at the last minute," Palin said, alluding to anti-abortion Democrats who voted for the bill.
The health care plan does not direct federal dollars to elective abortions, and the president has signed an executive order restating a policy barring the use of federal funds to pay for most abortions. But abortion foes called the order inadequate.
Palin made clear the issue was a personal one. As the mother of an unwed teenage mom as well as a child with Down syndrome, Palin said her experiences had not altered her position but gave her "tremendous empathy" for women considering abortion in the face of challenging pregnancies.
"I have to be really careful in how I explain my feelings because some people say, 'Oh, she considered abortion and how can that validate her pro-life position?' No, what Bristol (her daughter) and I have been through has not changed my belief, but it has changed my perspective on the whole situation," she said.
"I now understand why a woman would be tempted, perhaps, to think that, well, it might just be an easier way out, to try to change the circumstances, to take the situation in my own hands and change this. I understand what goes through her mind, if even for a moment, a split second, because I've been there."
Palin described the moment she learned her son would be born with Down syndrome, and acknowledged she didn't think she was patient and nurturing enough to raise a special needs child. She heard "God whispering in my ear saying, 'Are you going to trust me? Are you going to walk the walk or are you going to talk the talk?' " she said.
She described holding her now 2-year-old son Trig for the first time and thinking, "See, God, knows what he's doing."
Palin's comments got a standing ovation from the group gathered for the fundraiser for the Susan B. Anthony List, an advocacy committee that supports anti-abortion women candidates. The group said it is planning to spend $5 million ahead of the November elections, focusing on Senate races in Nevada, California and Colorado.
She described her perspective as part of a "new conservative feminist movement" modeled after Annie Oakley and Western pioneers.
"These are tough, independent, pioneering mothers whose work was as valuable as any man's on the frontier. These women had dirt under their fingernails and they could shoot a gun and push a plow and raise a family all at the same time," Palin said.
Abortion rights advocates responded by questioning Palin's notion of Western independence.
"Sarah Palin talks a good game about 'grizzly bear moms' taking the country back -- but I come from the West too," said Stephanie Schriock, president of Emily's List. "And her version of what American women want doesn't honor the freedom and independence that the women I grew up with in Montana cherish."
By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY
Chicago Tribune