Pensler Said He Evolved On Abortion And “Considers Himself Pro-Life.” According to the Detroit News, “Grosse Pointe businessman Sandy Pensler’s U.S. Senate campaign got off to a dramatic start Monday as critics highlighted a 1992 newspaper article describing him as a ‘pro-choice’ Republican and argued his past support for abortion rights will hurt him in next year’s GOP primary. Pensler, founder of the Pensler Capital Corp. private investment firm, now ‘considers himself pro-life’ and supports overturning the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that guaranteed a woman’s right to choose an abortion, campaign consultant Tom Shields said Monday. ‘It was 25 years ago,’ he said of Pensler’s stance in 1992, when he ran for the U.S. House in Michigan’s 8th Congressional District. ‘His position evolved as he had a family and kids.’” [Detroit News, 11/22/17]
Pensler Said He Would Support A Federal Law Incorporating The Basic Tenets Of Roe. According to the Lansing State Journal, “Sandy Pensler R-Okemos Supports a woman’s decision to abort or continue a pregnancy. Says the Freedom of Choice Act is overly broad and vague, but would support a federal law that incorporates the basic tenets of Roe v. Wade.” [Lansing State Journal, 6/21/92]
Pensler Said He Opposed Abortion Except In The Cases Of Rape Or Incest. According to the Detroit Free Press, “The two Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate exchanged heated words on abortion and campaign ads in a televised debate Friday. The two businessmen, John James of Farmington Hills and Sandy Pensler of Grosse Pointe, each want the chance to challenge U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Lansing Democrat who is seeking a fourth term. Abortion — often a key issue in a Republican primary — has become an issue in the race. Both candidates say they are anti-abortion, but Pensler acknowledges that he was an abortion rights supporter until the birth of his son about 20 years ago, when he said his view changed. Also, Pensler, 61, would make exceptions in cases of rape or incest; James, 37, would only make exceptions in cases where the life of the pregnant woman is at risk.” [Detroit Free Press, 7/6/18]
Pensler Said He Was Pro-Life And That Roe v. Wade Was A “Tyrannical” And “Terrible” Decision. According to the Associated Press, “Pensler, who has not held elective office, ran unsuccessfully for a Lansing-area U.S. House seat 25 years ago. Back then, he was identified as a supporter of abortion rights — which his rivals surely will make an issue in the GOP primary. He said Monday his position has ‘evolved’ and he considers himself ‘pro-life.’ ‘My position’s changed since I’ve had a family,’ Pensler said. ‘My wife and I think that abortion is a bad thing and that government should do what it can to limit it. I think Roe v. Wade was a terrible decision by a court, really an almost tyrannical decision by nine people on the rest of the country.’” [Associated Press, 11/20/17]
Pensler Said Abortion Should Be Left To The States. According to the Detroit Free Press, “He said he doesn’t believe in a ‘litmus test’ for judges and as a former law clerk believes it’s inappropriate for judicial candidates to take a position on a case that could later come before him or her. But he said that as a practical matter, he would confirm judges who interpret the law and Constitution as they were written and that, in his estimation, would make it ‘very hard to sustain’ the Roe v. Wade decision that affirmed a constitutional right to abortion. Instead, he said, it is a decision that should be left to the states.” [Detroit Free Press, 7/5/18]
Pensler Said He Would “Act To Defund Planned Parenthood.”
According to Pensler for Senate, “I am pro life. My wife and I think abortion is wrong. I will act to defund Planned Parenthood. Roe vs. Wade was wrongly decided. Legislating from the bench and stripping the states of rights granted to them in the constitution by judicial fiat is an abuse of power which undermines democracy and trust in the rule of law. I will fight for judges who interpret the law based on its intent and not their personal viewpoints of society.” [Pensler for Senate via Wayback Machine, 2018]