Keyes lays out his staunchly pro-life philosophy, arguing that human rights begin at the moment of creation and rejecting exceptions for rape and incest while allowing only for the life of the mother. He challenges front-runner Bob Dole's commitment to the pro-life cause and distances himself from Pat Buchanan on immigration, insisting America cannot shut its doors. The conversation turns to Bosnia, where Keyes advocates lifting the arms embargo to let Bosnians defend themselves rather than relying on empty NATO threats. He critiques affirmative action as a return to ancestral privilege, defends Second Amendment rights, and warns that anti-terrorism legislation could threaten civil liberties. Open Lines callers weigh in on the Roswell autopsy photographs, the Waco hearings, and the day's news, including a Los Angeles workplace shooting.
A compelling snapshot of mid-1990s politics through the lens of one of the Republican field's most passionate voices.
Key Moments
Keyes: no rape or incest exception on abortion: Art presses Keyes on the rape exception. Keyes says no abortion even in rape, calling the exception groundless because you cannot punish an innocent child for a parent's sin. He extends the same answer to incest moments later.
Life-of-mother is the one exception: On the toughest case, Keyes says the life-of-the-mother exception is the only one he accepts in principle, because the unalienable right to life means the state cannot coerce the mother to surrender her own life for the child's.
Lift the Bosnia arms embargo, not airstrikes: Asked about Warren Christopher returning to airstrike threats over Bosnia, Keyes says the policy is incoherent: the U.S. should lift the U.N. arms embargo and let the Bosnian government defend itself rather than send peacekeepers into a war with no peace to keep.
Waco: Clinton incompetent or culpable: Pressed on Treasury Secretary Rubin's refusal to say whether the President authorized the final Waco assault, Keyes argues either answer indicts Clinton: if he authorized it he bears responsibility for 85 deaths; if he didn't, his absence from such a decision is itself disqualifying incompetence.