Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani is taking on a very difficult task in trying to win the Republican presidential nomination as a decidedly pro-choice candidate. The following statements from his April 5, 2001 address to the National Abortion Rights Action League's "Champions of Choice" luncheon in Manhattan.

"As a Republican who supports a woman's right to choose, it is particularly an honor to be here," Giuliani said. He added: "The government shouldn't dictate that choice by making it a crime or making it illegal."

Giuliani openly condems abortion as "morally wrong." But, he doesn't seem to want to have laws enacted to protect the rights of unborn children.

People who knew him while he was the mayor of New York say he never promoted the issue much. But, there were some interesting twists going on with the numbers of abortions conducted while Giuliani was mayor.

According to the state Office of Vital Statistics, total abortions performed in New York City between 1993 (just before Giuliani started) and 2001 (as he departed) fell from 103,997 to 86,466 -- a 16.86 percent decrease. This upended a 10.32 percent increase compared to eight years before Giuliani, when 1985 witnessed 94,270 abortions.

The abortion ratio also slid from 890 terminations per 1,000 live births in 1993 to 767 in 2001, a 13.82 percent tail-off. What about Medicaid-financed abortions? Under Giuliani, taxpayer-funded abortions dropped 22.85 percent, from 45,006 in 1993 to 34,722 in 2001.

Giuliani is the GOP front runner by a small margin. According to a recent CBS News poll, 29 percent of Republican primary voters favor Giuliani, while 21 percent support former Senator Fred Thompson. Senator John McCain's support remains at 18 percent, the same as last month, while former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney receives 12 percent support.

But his pro life position on abortion can't be helping him among conservative Republican voters. Rudolph Giuliani should definitely be reminding Republican primary voters that on his watch, total abortions, taxpayer-funded Medicaid abortions, and the abortion ratio all went the right way: down.

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