The following are President George W. Bush's and Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry's responses to issue questions posed by The Associated Press.
Abortion\nQ: Should girls be required to tell their parents before having an abortion?
President Bush: "I believe parents should have the right to be involved in any major medical decision affecting their minor daughter. When young girls who are still legally minors find themselves in difficult situations regarding pregnancy, they may be easily influenced into making harmful and even dangerous choices. We need to protect the health and safety of our young women by ensuring that they have appropriate guidance from responsible adults. Many states already enforce parental notification laws that help ensure our young women have the supervision and the good counsel they need. I will continue to support parental notification laws so that parents are involved in the decisions of their minor daughters."
John Kerry: "Like any parent, I believe that parents should be fully involved in all decisions regarding their children. But we also have to take into account possible family dysfunction, including abuse or incest. I will not force a girl who has been abused by a family member to ask the rapist for permission in making a difficult and heart-wrenching choice. Too many proposed laws have failed to include common sense 'bypass' provisions to protect the victims of these brutal and unspeakable crimes."
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT \nQ: How would you seek to revitalize communities in greatest need of economic development?\nPresident Bush: "I believe that America's economic prosperity should extend to every corner of our country. My Opportunity Zone proposal would assist areas that have lost a significant portion of their economic base and are transitioning to a more diverse, broad-based economy, as well as poverty areas eligible for existing programs. Opportunity Zones would ease that transition by targeting federal resources and encouraging businesses to invest in these areas. They focus both on stimulating new economic activity and promoting education, job training, affordable housing, and other activities critical for a vibrant community. Opportunity Zones also recognize that overcoming barriers to growth requires local involvement, and requires communities to work with the federal government to reduce those barriers to development and job creation."\nJohn Kerry: "I will create a Small Business Opportunity fund, expand loans and equity for small businesses, increase the federal government's venture capital investments, and expand loan programs to help more small businesses get off the ground. I will increase the share of federal contracts for small businesses and ensure that minority-owned businesses get a fair share, use tax credits to cut the cost of energy and reduce the cost of health care by two-thirds, and eliminate capital gains taxes for long-term investment in small businesses. And I will help small businesses offer retirement plans by using tax credits to help offset the startup costs of pension plans. I'll have a new jobs tax credit to cover an employer's share of payroll taxes for net new jobs created by small businesses in 2005 and 2006."\nCountdown to Election: \n32 days
